Body: A Life in Parts
Date of Award
2020
Document Type
Bibliographic Record
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Stonecoast
First Advisor
Debra Marquart
Second Advisor
Suzanne Strempek Shea
Third Advisor
Justin Tussing
Abstract
Body: A Life in Parts is a memoir written in fragments, where a woman's life is remembered through the emotional and muscle memory of various body parts. "Hips," "Teeth," "Skin" and soon, are catalysts for inquiry and story, and interconnected essays that reveal often tender, funny and sometimes heartbreaking moments in what the author calls her (extra-) ordinary journey, filled with wanderlust, love and loss.
Vivid scenes evoke the rich interior life of the author, from her early years as a curious latchkey kid and rebellious youth in her native Norway, to becoming a wife, mother and convert to orthodox Judaism in her adopted homeland, the USA. The advent of divorce and being disowned by her ex-in-law family, as well of the death of her father, fuels a deeper search of coming to terms with and understanding the meaning of loss, and her own role in these challenging life events.
By partnering with her body and not just her mind, Lichtenstein discovers a unique way to mine for forgotten or remembered personal experiences, and the result is an original lens through which to explore universal themes.
Recommended Citation
Lichtenstein, Nina B., "Body: A Life in Parts" (2020). Stonecoast MFA Theses and Capstones. 133.
https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/stonecoast/133
Comments
This is a closed-access thesis and the record is restricted to bibliographic information only.