Year of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Degree Name

Creative Writing (Nonfiction)

Department or School/College

English

Committee Chair

Chris Dombrowski

Committee Co-chair

Brian Blanchfield

Commitee Members

Anya Jabour

Keywords

Feminist Life Writing, Mormon Studies, Queer Identity, Women's History, Home and Belonging

Subject Categories

History of Religions of Western Origin | Mormon Studies | Nonfiction | Queer Studies | Women's History | Women's Studies

Abstract

Who is allowed to be holy in a world built by men? The House After, a memoir in essays, follows a narrator’s upbringing inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and the life she carves beyond it. Moving across multiple timelines—an inquisitive childhood, missionary service in the American Southwest, a fractured exodus from religion—the collection explores the limits of safety and belonging for a woman within patriarchal faith. Through embracing sisterhood, myth making, and queer identity, the narrator reclaims the right to sanctify her own life. There, in the remnants of what remains, she builds herself a home.

Available for download on Sunday, June 08, 2031

Share

COinS
 

© Copyright 2026 Hannah Lee