Date of Award
1-1-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.F.A. in Creative Writing
First Advisor
Melissa Ginsburg
Second Advisor
W. Ralph Eubanks
Third Advisor
Michael Wang
School
University of Mississippi
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Joy is determined to leave her small Mississippi town behind, but she won’t do it if it means leaving her mother trapped in a cycle of pain that she has always tried to protect her from. As secrets come to light and time slips away, Joy must risk everything to break the ties that bind them—before those ties break her.
Set beneath the humid skies of South Mississippi, All Things unfold through multiple voices, weaving together the fractured stories of a family marked by generations of trauma and resilience. Joy, fierce and determined, stands at the crossroads between the promise of a new life and the weight of a past that won’t loosen its grip.
With the help of her estranged uncle—an unlikely ally shaped with scars of his own, Joy devises a plan to save her mother before she steps into the unknown of college and adulthood.
This lyrical journey through the heart of the South explores the painful beauty of family ties, the silent wounds passed down through time, and the quiet strength it takes to choose hope, even when that choice means letting go.
Recommended Citation
Jackson, Janeth, "All Things" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3299.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/3299