Something that I enjoyed throughout the entire piece was the transparency of the author. I mentioned it to the people in my cohort, and everyone seemed to agree with how well she was able to be descriptive with her work as a woman in her position. The fact that she’s a mother, professor at a college, and a writer is mentioned a few times throughout the work. That already stood out to me in the beginning because that kind of life can be unexplainably busy. The further I was able to get in the reading, the more I understood the author with a sense of sympathy. In today’s society, women truly do have to give the extra effort to be in a position men are in. So, for her to give her perspective on the things that she needed to do to be as successful as she was at the time of this publication is admirable. From those couple thousand papers that needed to be graded for her students in class, to an ending of a unmanageable relationship with a man who seems to be threatened by his own ex-wife… it’s a roller coaster of a life with trying to write in between it all while taking care of their young daughter.
About
Professor: Jessica Penner
Email: creative.writing.citytech@gmail.com
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM. I’ll be available through Zoom and will send an invitation via email that you should keep all semester. Try to join my meeting at the start of the hour, not at the end—since I may be talking to other students or have another appointment after the hour is up. If those times don’t work with your schedule, we can schedule a different time. This means you’ll have to schedule an appointment in advance. I suggest you have multiple times in mind, since your schedule may not mesh with mine!
I agree with the points that you made because the story does indeed give an illustration based on what women themselves have to endure. I also agree that you included the fact that she was a mother on top of other things and how she had to balance it out with writing,
I completely agree with your points about the transparency the author gave, I said something similar in my response. She really allowed us to experience these life difficulties through her eyes and we were able to sympathize with her a lot more, she had a lot on her plate.
I agree with your points aswell. especially about the transparency the author part! She really was riding a roller coster!
I also like how descriptive the author was because it allowed readers to understand her better. Something that stood out to me was how well the author defined herself. She described herself as a mother, writer and professor and despite the violent incident involving her husband she didn’t let that define her. This shows she has a clear understanding of who she is. She maintained that identity throughout the whole piece and never identified herself as an ex-wife or a victim which is inspiring.