University Honors

This literary fiction novel follows a young woman, Delilah OíConner, from Riverside to Chicago as she survives a journey with her schizophrenic mother and searches for her missing father. As a child, Delilah was told her father died on a business trip to Chicago. When Delilah returns home from work to find the apartment she shares with Ma is trashed, she soon discovers a haunting secret: Her father is alive, and Maís only connection to him is a burner phone he left behind. Aided by Coop, their neighbor with a haunted past, the trio take a trip to Chicago where Delilah intends to find her father and bridge the gap that time and distance had created. However, when Delilah receives a call on the burner phone from her half-sister, Missy, she realizes the circumstances surrounding her fatherís disappearance are worse than she feared. As the stress of finding Delilahís father exacerbates Maís mental disorder, Delilah must decide whether finding her father is worth the cost of losing her mother permanently. This novel demonstrates how fatherhood is not always defined by bloodline and explores Delilah and her motherís strained dynamicóunpacking their history of resentment and desperation for safety in a world where the odds are stacked against them.