Date of Award

11-2020

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

English

Program

Other

Program

Writing

First Advisor/Chairperson

Jon Billman

Abstract

This thesis is an excerpt of an in-progress, full-length memoir. T. Hanks for Everything celebrates the myriad of ways art molds and shapes who we become and interrogates the nature in which mere appreciation transforms into fandom. The writer reflects on the impact actor Tom Hanks has had on her life through narratives that blend the personal with the biographical, developing both the writer’s and Hanks’ characters side-by-side. The writer uses humor as a mechanism to navigate the world, to deflect pain, and to find healing in the midst of it. This thesis hopes to be a safe place for the reader to do the same. T. Hanks for Everything aims to open up a conversation about the power pop culture has to be a bridge that connects us to one another in a world that is often so divided.

Access Type

Open Access

Justification for Restricting Access

This thesis is an excerpt of a full-length memoir that I am looking to publish in the next year or two. Access to my creative work through NMU could hurt my prospects of publication.

Available for download on Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Included in

Nonfiction Commons

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