Publication Date

5-2025

Date of Final Oral Examination (Defense)

3-13-2025

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis

Degree Title

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

Department

Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing

Supervisory Committee Chair

Anna Caritj, MFA

Supervisory Committee Member

Nicole Cullen, MFA

Supervisory Committee Member

Clyde Moneyhun, Ph.D.

Abstract

Girls in God Town is a novel that weaves between childhood and young adulthood, exploring religious faith, queerness, and what we owe to our family, our friends, and ourselves. Twenty-six-year-old Summer Larson has her own life now. She shares a quaint San Antonio apartment with her girlfriend, just picked up a long-term substitute teaching job that she doesn’t hate, and avoids visiting her hometown of Chester, Texas unless she absolutely has to. In Chester, memories of Summer’s past flare up around every corner: from the river where she would secretly make out with her ex-best-friend Bethany, to the church that kept her closeted and guilty throughout her teen years. So, it’s best to stay away. But when Summer’s father Jim, a doomsday-prepping evangelical pastor, falls into ill-health, Summer is yanked back to her hometown. This includes encountering Bethany, who has settled down in Chester with a husband, two kids, and a strangely father-daughter-like relationship with Summer’s dad. As Jim’s health continues to deteriorate, Summer will find herself leaning on Bethany more than she’d like to. She’ll be forced to contend with the love and betrayal that pulled her and Bethany apart as teenagers—along with the church community that shaped her growing up and the father who loves her but cannot accept her fully as she is.

Comments

At the request of the Department of Theatre, Film, and Creative Writing, the document available on this record contains only the front matter of the corresponding thesis. The document in its entirety is not available for general viewing.

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Available for download on Saturday, May 01, 2027

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