Year of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Degree Name

Creative Writing (Nonfiction)

Department or School/College

Department of English

Committee Chair

Judy Blunt

Commitee Members

Christopher Dombrowski, Neva Hassanein

Keywords

Divorce, Death, Suicide, Military, Wilderness, Authentic Self

Publisher

University of Montana

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Nonfiction

Abstract

(A segment of a book-length project) Struggling with divorce, the death of his father and coming to terms with his sexuality, a former Force Recon Marine abandons the thought of suicide and decides, instead, to retreat to the wilds in a desperate attempt to make sense of thing. Hiking by himself for more than 1,000 miles, over three months, mostly off-trail through some of the most remote and wild country left in the United States, the author writes of his encounters with wolves, grizzlies, mountain lions and, more importantly, himself. "In the wilds," the author writes, "there are no societal-created norms and expectations. everything is what it is. A Grizzly might judge me as a possible threat or feast but doesn't care who I love or sleep with." A mixture or wilderness adventure, natural history and self-discovery, the narrator takes along on his physical and emotional journey as he faces a lifetime of deceit and begins to understand and embrace his darkest secrets and authentic self.

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