Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
8-2021
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph. D.
Department
Humanities
Degree Program
Humanities, PhD
Committee Chair
Griner, Paul
Committee Member
Clukey
Committee Member
Fosl, Catherine
Committee Member
Maxwell, Kristi
Author's Keywords
memoir; bipolar disorder; epilepsy; temporal lobe epilepsy; creative writing
Abstract
This dissertation is a memoir that is about my nuclear family. The themes within the memoir itself include my father’s bipolar disorder, my temporal lobe epilepsy, and how volatile the combination was as I grew up, but also how loving my family was, despite all the issues. It also looks at the ramifications of having temporal lobe epilepsy, growing up queer (bi+) in a time when being queer at all was not accepted and being bi+ was not understood, and the issues I’ve had with my sisters, which were caused in part by my father The memoir is accompanied by a critical afterword that examines my positions within the memoir (primarily) through the lenses of disability studies, medical humanities, and creative writing/memoir studies.
Recommended Citation
Glass, Elizabeth Lane, "Explosive family dinners: bipolar disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy & me critical afterword convulsive family dynamics: when mental and neurological disabilities entangle and isolate." (2021). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 3712.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/3712
