Mental health

Overview "Chasing Shadows in Borrowed Light is a work of fiction that deals with friendships and mental health across countries. A group of four friends who went to school together separate following a painful event, are thrown far apart from each other. In an attempt to disengage, three leave the country, while one stays back. The story begins when one of them reaches out to another announcing she would not be around any longer. The novel deals with complex issues such as molestation, childhood...

Overview "My thesis marks the beginning of a memoir about the mental, physical, and spiritual growth that stemmed from my experience as a competitive distance runner in high school and college. Running was both poison and antidote to my natural anxiety, teaching me to cope with my fears even as it brought a host of mental and physical issues: anxiety attacks, iron deficiency, mysterious collapses, and, in the end, an unexpected hip surgery that stripped me of my ability to run. Why did I keep...

Overview "Heart on the Ice is Book One in the Ballston Blackhearts tetralogy. This series follows a minor league hockey team based in Washington D.C. and each book will follow a different narrator on the team. There is a streamline focus on mental health throughout each plot—it is an intergyral piece in each story. Heart on the Ice follows Quinn Marley, who was recently traded to the Ballston Blackhearts after playing college hockey in Durham, North Carolina. Fresh out of college and new to the city,...

Overview "'Miss February' consists of several chapters from a potential memoir with the same title. The memoir follows a young girl's journey through the tribulations of grief and early-onset mental health issues. The project is divided into three central parts, "Past," "Present," and "Future," and this thesis contains a majority of the content for both the "Past" and "Future" sections. In "Past," we see the protagonist grow up around their similarly affected mother and in the wake of many...

Overview

"Still Waters is a short film exploring the ideas of mental health, unresolved childhood trauma, and the relationships we have with others and with ourselves. The story follows a distressed man when a mysterious boy appears in his home after a recent breakup triggers him to relive memories of the past. In order to save the boy, the man must find a way to confront his inner demons before they consume him." -- Abstract

Overview "Trannifesto is an creative nonfiction essay collection which focuses on issues of gender, sexuality, mental illness, and belonging. These essays range to the extent which they discuss each of these issues: some focus more on gender identity, while others focus more on mental illness. However, tying them all together is the theme that, no matter how marginalized or alienated a person may feel, connection with those around them is always possible -- and, this connection is vital and necessary...