We Shall Be Monsters

I am proud to announce that We Shall Be Monsters, an anthology of stories inspired by Frankenstein, is now published! It features my story "Enough."

　

I first discovered Frankenstein the way I discovered all classic literature: Through the PBS show Wishbone.

In the years since, I've fallen in love with the story of Mary Shelley and all the supporting characters in her life (especially Lord Byron, insufferable as he may have been). To be part of an anthology celebrating her work two hundred years after she wrote it is very exciting for me.

　

Enough is one of my most personal stories. It's about Dr. Frankenstein's second monster, Eve, trying to navigate the world and find her purpose, but it's also very much about disability.
I wrote in more detail about the incident that inspired the story here: https://jenniferleerossman.blogspot.com/2017/10/enough.html but since discovering that I am autistic, this story is even more "my" story to tell. Nonautistic and abled people tend to make themselves the heroes of our stories, making us everything from the villain to the tragic backstory.


I purposely don't use the doctor's name at all. It is not about him.

　

Enough is also about my abusive father. He loved me and I loved him and on the surface we seemed fine, but when we were alone, he was not a good person.

And he was abusive, no matter what anyone says. He was manipulative and cruel and gaslit me into believing he wasn't. Eve's realization about the doctor comes faster than mine did, but it's almost exactly how I felt.

I haven't spoken to my father in over ten years. I don't know if he's read my work. I don't particularly care either way. But if he reads one thing I write, I hope it's Enough, and I hope he sees himself in the doctor.
We Shall Be Monsters is available here.