The Color We Could Live With

Abstract

This manuscript is a work of literary fiction that explores identity, secrecy, and the cost of survival across generations. Structured through alternating timelines, the narrative follows Olivia, a young woman in the present day who discovers a hidden collection of letters in her grandmother Dorothy’s attic, and Dorothy’s life in the 1950s American South. The letters reveal Dorothy’s first marriage to Earl, a gay man, in what would now be understood as a lavender marriage—an arrangement made to navigate the social, religious, and legal constraints of the time. As Olivia uncovers this concealed history, the novel examines how silence, repression, and societal expectations shape personal identity and family legacy. Drawing on epistolary elements and fragmented narrative techniques, the manuscript emphasizes moments of revelation, omission, and emotional resonance, influenced by contemporary approaches to narrative structure such as those articulated by George Saunders. The project investigates how stories are constructed and withheld, asking what is lost, protected, or transformed when truths remain hidden. Ultimately, the manuscript situates personal memory within broader cultural histories, highlighting the enduring impact of marginalized identities and the intergenerational consequences of secrecy.