Abstract
Abstract:|The four pieces included in Love, Loss, and the Lack of (Communication) are my favorite short stories that I have written while at Creighton University. They have each been workshopped and heavily edited for inclusion in my thesis. Exploring relationships and the family dynamic have always interested me. Everyone deals with relationship problems differently. I wanted to write about the possible outcomes of a person’s actions when problems in a relationship arise. It comes down to one thing: how a person communicates with another. |The first piece, “Renovation,” follows the lives of Gin and Cam after the death of their mother. The girls are forced to reevaluate their relationship with each other and the ones they had with their mother.|The second piece, “Going to Press,” deals with Cara’s struggle of losing her job. She has yet to tell her husband. I also explore the family dynamic between Cara and her in-laws. |In “Tomatoes,” Beth struggles with her fiancé. She struggles with the death of her brother. She also has her father and mother’s failed relationship in the back of her mind. Beth’s failure to move on haunts her in what should be her strongest relationship–the one with her fiancé. The baggage of her first family carries into the one with her fiancé.|In the final piece entitled “Stargazers,” Jake hopes to save his failing marriage. He has found out that his wife cheated on him. The relationship between the two of them is anchored in their love for their sons.