Date of Graduation

Spring 2026

Degree

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

Committee Chair

Jennifer Murvin

Abstract

Joan Didion said of her book, The Year of Magical Thinking, that, “the reason I had to write it down, is that no one had ever told me what it was like.” She was trying to make sense of her grief following the death of her husband, and in doing so, wrote a piece of creative nonfiction (CNF) that explores her own life in and around the larger ideas of mourning, connection, and moving forward. This is the ultimate aim of creative nonfiction: writing to make sense of our lives in relation to the world around us. In this collection, Inherited Sins, I try to make sense of my childhood and the innumerable elements throughout it including my parents’ divorce, growing up Baptist, and exploring the Missouri Ozarks. I take inspiration from Didion, essayist Brenda Miller, and other writers of CNF, as outlined in my critical introduction, and display this inspiration in pieces that explore local history, “Ghost, Brother, Say Hello;” the impact of religion, “The Good News Club;” and my place in the world, “Heaven is a Pond Full of Frogs.” These works are reflective in nature, building a space for connection between writer and reader.

Keywords

childhood, religion, place, connection, reflection, Joan Didion, creative nonfiction

Subject Categories

Nonfiction

Copyright

© Claire Ellerman

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Open Access

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Nonfiction Commons

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