UNSEALED: A Memoir

Author

Alyssa Witbeck AlexanderFollow

Year of Award

2023

Document Type

Thesis - Campus Access Only

Degree Type

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Degree Name

Creative Writing (Nonfiction)

Department or School/College

English

Committee Chair

Judy Blunt

Commitee Members

Chris Dombrowski, Dr. Anna Prentiss

Keywords

Mormon, domestic violence, eating disorder, literary nonfiction, religious trauma, religious deconstruction

Subject Categories

Nonfiction

Abstract

UNSEALED: A Memoir begins with a newlywed Mormon couple, Alyssa and Levi, returning home to Utah from their honeymoon. Levi takes Alyssa into an airport bathroom for sex. Alyssa is clearly upset. After they leave the bathroom, the two spontaneously meet one of twelve apostles of the global Mormon church, and Alyssa sees the collision of Levi and the apostle as an emotional collision of her marriage and faith, and it must be resolved.

The memoir then moves back in time to Alyssa at age eight. As childhood builds, as does her devotion to orthodoxy. Alyssa’s intensity amplifies when she attends Brigham Young University.

Anorexia strikes during Alyssa’s first semester. The weight slips off with no end in sight and after finals, Alyssa’s mother pulls her out of school and takes her home for an intervention. For two nights, a hospital IV keeps Alyssa’s heart beating, a heart that dropped to 24 bpm and almost stopped. Amid her recovery and breakup, she transfers to Utah State University and meets Levi at church. Alyssa enters the Mormon temple for the first time and the two marry in the temple. The submitted thesis ends at this point in the memoir.

Recommended Citation

Alexander, Alyssa Witbeck, "UNSEALED: A Memoir" (2023). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12097.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12097