The Outdoor Type

The novel manuscript, The Outdoor Type, explores the trauma of imposed motherhood on women. The protagonist, Claire, is a woman begrudgingly transitioning into motherhood after her husband’s first wife is diagnosed with cancer and subsequently dies, leaving behind a teen daughter. While making a statement about motherhood’s assumed proximity to womanhood, The Outdoor Type, titled after Toni Morrison’s rendition of being ‘outdoors’ in The Bluest Eye, considers the intersection of marriage, memory, and comfort. The novel, set in Chicago, simultaneously characterizes Chicago and black experiences by fictionalizing actual south side of Chicago events and community members.