Advisory Committee Chair
Kyle Grimes
Advisory Committee Members
Alison Chapman
Kerry Madden-Lunsford
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2020
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
This creative nonfiction thesis combines memoir with documentary research to tell the story of the adoptive parents of the author, and the author’s successful search for her birth parents. The adoptive mother’s story starts and finishes the narrative, spanning fifty-five years of her life, from her rise from poverty to prosperity in mid-20th century Texas. The middle of the article is the author’s discovery of her birth parents, the key event for which is the Texas court’s unsealing the author’s adoption file. Names and dates empowered the author to find four half-siblings and speak with her birth mother on the telephone. The thesis concludes with the author’s reflections on the combined influences of her two mothers in her own life. A blend of memoir and research, this article is intended for publication in a literary magazine such as the Texas Monthly.
Recommended Citation
Fleeson, Ardell Taylor, "The Luckiest Girl in the World: A Texan Seeks Her Birth Parents" (2020). All ETDs from UAB. 644.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/644