Fragmentary Mother

Abstract

Fragmentary Mother is a collection of essays and experimental creative nonfiction that explores my transition from Marine to mother. Composed during my pregnancy and following the birth of my child, these experimental essays confront past traumas that have influenced me, while also reckoning with the way I am reshaped in this new phase of my life. Ultimately, this is both a documentation of a healing process rooted in love and an acknowledgement of empathy for oneself in response to trauma. The work focuses on three distinct ideas that shape my understanding of motherhood: (1) childhood and my direct experiences with mother figures, (2) my experiences as a leader in the Military, specifically the Marine Corps and (3) the present state of pregnancy and motherhood as I transition through it. Reoccurring themes of medicine’s impact on shaping my life as well as webs of interconnection are reflected in each piece. This work encapsulates the unique and beautiful experience of capturing a delicate state of change for a mom.