And I Have Touched the Sky and accompanying essays

Fairy tale retellings have become a popular literary genre in recent years. While many of these texts are lyrical in nature and grounded in the broader genre of fantasy literature, fairy tale theorists such as Jack Zipes postulate that fairy tales are less fantasy stories and more a vehicle to explore everyday danger and trauma. Fairy tales can be less comforting bedtime stories and more cautionary tales for children and adults alike. To this end, my dissertation explores power of storytelling to shape identity, as well as the stories we tell ourselves and tell others about ourselves. The short novel is a tale of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder following sexual assault and an abusive relationship, but more than that, it is a story about family, love, nature, and healing. Hints of magical realism come into play via the dogs that never age. Furthermore, the two accompanying essays that follow the novel explore themes of women, patriarchy, and nature via the lens of nature writing and other magical realist texts. The essays are also grounded in my own personal experiences and narratives as a woman and a child, to reflect on the autobiographical undertones of my creative process and experience in writing, and re-writing, this novel