Creative writing (Higher education)

The creative idea of this thesis did not start with a definitive theme. Instead, an
appreciation of the modern Irish poets inspired the process. A creative endeavor has
translated a bricolage of unconscious memories into a dream like flow of language. The
visualization of dreams and the exploration of language measured in words, has become
my muse. I like to let language shape itself from a visual realization inside the creative
process and to whittle through words to breathe life into the asynchronous sound of
dreams. Most of this reconstruction is drawn from dormant memories. The journey has
allowed me to dig down as if in an archeological site (of the mind) and use language in
arbitrary words that come to express a subjective meaning. Transposing this to a more
objective meaning will often result in an analytic conclusion. These conclusions are
personal observations stemming from the root of the first flash of memory.
The title suggests movement in a slow pattern that is often the way dreams
occur. The result makes the journey that more imperative to reach a conclusion. At
moments there is a repetition of the words, and that is what gives the bricolage
substance if not theme. The journey has offered me a personal gift of time to slow down
and grasp the essence of life. It is my hope that the reader will join my metaphorical
caravan to find a dig of one's own in this creative language.

This work of creative nonfiction is meant to explore the effects of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder in American war veterans and their families. As a work of blended literary journalism and memoir, the author interviewed afflicted veterans from World War II to the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars, included scholarly research, and reflected on how her father's dealings with the disorder have affected her family.