My dissertation will be a novel looking at motherhood. The concept for the novel is based on a speculative short story I wrote in Fall of 2022 titled, I Rode a Carousel Once.  Joselyn is a mother who climbs on a carousel one morning only to find herself confronting the truth of a closeted queer identity through a series of trips in time. As she comes closer to learning about herself, she mourns the growing distance between her husband Marc, and the life she envisioned for herself. Is there a possibility that one of the trips through time might harbor a possibility for the happy ending she so desperately needs, and what, ultimately, are the costs she will have to pay in order to get there?.