The six short essays of "Taking Care" explore the power of family dynamics through the life events of one young woman in her twenties. Each essay exposes a different fact of the accidental but palpable effects families have on each other. Through Lisa's experiences, readers endure the transformation from the snarky, silent teenager to the nurturing adult. Since much of the work focuses on the alcoholism of the mother character, my consultation of research sources and other memoirs featuring like content proved to be important in the completion of "Taking Care." ...

Creative nonfiction presents myriad challenges, one of which is portraying yourself to the world. I thought about which dimension of myself to portray that speaks most to the way my mother shaped me. Of course, people are more complex and do not remain static. They are filled with contradictions. For this reason, I focused on instances that silenced me or attracted me to my mother's brazen traits. This manuscript is not to blame her for my lack of voice, but to engage the questions of how others affect us....

My hopes for his manuscript, should it ever be expanded and published as a collecton of linked personal essays, are that it can make one person with similar experiences feel less alone. I believe it has the potential to name human complexities that are sometimes too confusing and frightening to look at directly. Perhaps future readers can find the courage to face their own stories by first witnessing mine.