Theses and Dissertations Collection

Fleeing from my abusive father, my family, led by my stepfather, leaves our comfortable suburban life north of Chicago, changing our identity before going into hiding. Only six weeks after arriving in the wilderness on the Colville Indian Reservation in northeast Washington State, my stepfather returns to Chicago right before one of the worst winters on record, leaving my mother, my brothers, and me in a shack without a bathroom and only wood heat to keep warm. This coming of age memoir deals with themes of escape, abandonment, isolation, survival, betrayal, death, and rebirth as I transition from childhood to adulthood, navigating life off the grid, adapting to life without the presence of my stepfather, and immersion into a new culture. These first one hundred pages include pertinent backstory and introduces readers to the reservation, the main characters, and the threads of the memoir.