In front of them all: a memoir in essays

This Creative Nonfiction MFA Thesis is a book-length work told in three acts. The first three essays explore the narrator's adolescence and young adulthood in Hawaii, South Korea, and online with focus placed upon the body and on terror. The second act, "Movement," details the writer's upbringing and childhood through a series of interconnected flash essays. The third and final act, consisting of two essays, follows the narrator's reach toward safety as a young adult living in Northern Colorado. This thesis is introduced by a prologue, which positions the narrator in the process of self-reflection. Holistically, this thesis endeavors to understand the relationships between trauma, safety, and community, as well as how each of these concepts has resisted definition for much of the writer's life.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Authors dc:creator

• Mercado, Bel, author
• Candelaria Fletcher, Harrison, advisor
• Mitchell, Todd, committee member
• Centelles, Vanessa, committee member

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.027120

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/244760