Peregrinations: A Memoir of the Art of Falconry and Mental Health

Publication Date

Fall 2015

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

English and Comparative Literature

Advisor

Persis M. Karim

Keywords

falconry, memoir, mental health, mother and son

Subject Areas

Creative writing

Abstract

There are a host of narratives that talk of the historic and modern art of falconry; there exist a host of narratives exploring the mental health experience. Somewhere in these many treatises, books, and memoirs, there remains one story about my son and me. I am the falconer; he is the one who battles with his mind. Both falconry and mental health (and illness) have existed for thousands of years, often under many veils of proscribed exclusivity and inherent secrecy; both use an array of jargon, descriptors, and pieces of advice to share the experience with others, if only one person at a time. This narrative exposes one small underbelly of both. Albeit, I am hesitant to publish any part of this tale; nonetheless, this is one narrative about the art of falconry and the battle with mental health. It serves as my testament as one mother who used the practices of falconry to mitigate, protect, and save her son from a life floundering in the mental health system. It demonstrates my confluence of the day-to-day experiences of two exciting and passionate pastimes in my life. It is one memoir based on true events.

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