Abstract:
My dissertation, Life at the Last Straw, is a multimedia hybrid collection of poems and essays in two parts: written poetry collection and recorded poetry album. The album includes an accompanying reading list. This project is about coping with caretaking, neuro-divergence, deep, fierce love, and the frustrations of balancing my life as mother, advocate, daughter and wife against the challenges of creative work, completing my PHD, and becoming a writer.
I am a non-traditional student (over 50) in a nontraditional life, but the backdrop is in many ways typical: Raised in an extended multi-generational multilingual Italian immigrant family, trained in the stories, folk-wisdom, and inter-generational cooking traditions.
In my manuscript, I use cooking as sign posts and metaphors. What is the dynamic between these often conflicting realities? How did emotions, devotion, and culture play a part in the way I was raised and my view of cooking and the kitchen as my happy place? I wonder if it is possible to return there. I use creative writing and my spoken-word album not only to return, but to take readers and listeners there, too.
Who needs me more in sandwich generation: my parents, my husband, my children? What is care work and how does it pay intrinsically when it is in reality unpaid labor with endless responsibilities, especially as a “sandwich generation” caregiver? Is it ok for me to express a range of unbecoming emotions? Do I really have time to pursue the PhD? Is it too late for me?
My poems, essays, and voice album offer an exploration of these questions.
","abstract_html":"<p>Abstract:</p> <p>My dissertation, Life at the Last Straw, is a multimedia hybrid collection of poems and essays in two parts: written poetry collection and recorded poetry album. The album includes an accompanying reading list. This project is about coping with caretaking, neuro-divergence, deep, fierce love, and the frustrations of balancing my life as mother, advocate, daughter and wife against the challenges of creative work, completing my PHD, and becoming a writer.</p> <p>I am a non-traditional student (over 50) in a nontraditional life, but the backdrop is in many ways typical: Raised in an extended multi-generational multilingual Italian immigrant family, trained in the stories, folk-wisdom, and inter-generational cooking traditions.</p> <p>In my manuscript, I use cooking as sign posts and metaphors. What is the dynamic between these often conflicting realities? How did emotions, devotion, and culture play a part in the way I was raised and my view of cooking and the kitchen as my happy place? I wonder if it is possible to return there. I use creative writing and my spoken-word album not only to return, but to take readers and listeners there, too.</p> <p>Who needs me more in sandwich generation: my parents, my husband, my children? What is care work and how does it pay intrinsically when it is in reality unpaid labor with endless responsibilities, especially as a “sandwich generation” caregiver? Is it ok for me to express a range of unbecoming emotions? Do I really have time to pursue the PhD? Is it too late for me?</p> <p>My poems, essays, and voice album offer an exploration of these questions.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["LaMarca-Sacco, Nicoletta, PhD","0009-0001-1082-0278
"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:10:37Z","subjects":["sandwich generation","parenting","motherhood","special needs","caregiving","menopause","autism","neurodivergence","memoir","poetry","Digital Humanities","English Language and Literature","Nonfiction","Other English Language and Literature","Other Italian Language and Literature","Translation Studies","Women's Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://orb.binghamton.edu/english_fac/7","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["LaMarca-Sacco, Nicoletta, PhD","0009-0001-1082-0278
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My dissertation, Life at the Last Straw, is a multimedia hybrid collection of poems and essays in two parts: written poetry collection and recorded poetry album. The album includes an accompanying reading list. This project is about coping with caretaking, neuro-divergence, deep, fierce love, and the frustrations of balancing my life as mother, advocate, daughter and wife against the challenges of creative work, completing my PHD, and becoming a writer.
I am a non-traditional student (over 50) in a nontraditional life, but the backdrop is in many ways typical: Raised in an extended multi-generational multilingual Italian immigrant family, trained in the stories, folk-wisdom, and inter-generational cooking traditions.
In my manuscript, I use cooking as sign posts and metaphors. What is the dynamic between these often conflicting realities? How did emotions, devotion, and culture play a part in the way I was raised and my view of cooking and the kitchen as my happy place? I wonder if it is possible to return there. I use creative writing and my spoken-word album not only to return, but to take readers and listeners there, too.
Who needs me more in sandwich generation: my parents, my husband, my children? What is care work and how does it pay intrinsically when it is in reality unpaid labor with endless responsibilities, especially as a “sandwich generation” caregiver? Is it ok for me to express a range of unbecoming emotions? Do I really have time to pursue the PhD? Is it too late for me?
My poems, essays, and voice album offer an exploration of these questions.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Balanced at the Last Straw: Reflections on Sandwich Generation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["LaMarca-Sacco, Nicoletta, PhD","0009-0001-1082-0278
"],"dc:date.available":["2025-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Abstract:
My dissertation, Life at the Last Straw, is a multimedia hybrid collection of poems and essays in two parts: written poetry collection and recorded poetry album. The album includes an accompanying reading list. This project is about coping with caretaking, neuro-divergence, deep, fierce love, and the frustrations of balancing my life as mother, advocate, daughter and wife against the challenges of creative work, completing my PHD, and becoming a writer.
I am a non-traditional student (over 50) in a nontraditional life, but the backdrop is in many ways typical: Raised in an extended multi-generational multilingual Italian immigrant family, trained in the stories, folk-wisdom, and inter-generational cooking traditions.
In my manuscript, I use cooking as sign posts and metaphors. What is the dynamic between these often conflicting realities? How did emotions, devotion, and culture play a part in the way I was raised and my view of cooking and the kitchen as my happy place? I wonder if it is possible to return there. I use creative writing and my spoken-word album not only to return, but to take readers and listeners there, too.
Who needs me more in sandwich generation: my parents, my husband, my children? What is care work and how does it pay intrinsically when it is in reality unpaid labor with endless responsibilities, especially as a “sandwich generation” caregiver? Is it ok for me to express a range of unbecoming emotions? Do I really have time to pursue the PhD? Is it too late for me?
My poems, essays, and voice album offer an exploration of these questions.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://orb.binghamton.edu/english_fac/7"],"dc:subject":["sandwich generation","parenting","motherhood","special needs","caregiving","menopause","autism","neurodivergence","memoir","poetry","Digital Humanities","English Language and Literature","Nonfiction","Other English Language and Literature","Other Italian Language and Literature","Translation Studies","Women's Studies"],"dc:title":["Balanced at the Last Straw: Reflections on Sandwich Generation"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:10:37Z"}