Scars That Define Us
1 Writer
Additional Project Info
Scars that Define Us, explores a caregiver relationship between a father and daughter, which is made more difficult as its set against the backdrop of a concurrent environmental crisis. A scar symbolizes healing. It's the body's way of telling a story of resilience, of overcoming adversity. The process of healing can be daunting and the daughter in this story struggles to understand that until she realizes that true healing is defined by helping others selflessly. This story is inspired by my 103-year old grandmother. She unfortunately recently broke her femur and is now under the care of my mother who chose to retire early and take on the physical demands of caregiving such as feeding, lifting and bathing her. My family resides five miles outside of Jackson, Mississippi, a city with a long history of institutional racism, where 80% of the residents are black and nearly 25% live below the poverty line. In August 2022, Jackson suffered a water crisis that left thousands either without running or clean water for days. With many feeling abandoned after state officials ignored the warning signs of the failing infrastructure for decades, the people of Jackson unselfishly went out of their way to deliver water to homes. In a poetic way, that resembled the duty of a caregiver.