Alumna Spotlight: Jessie Carr

Congratulations are in order for UNO English alum, Jessie Carr. She has won the Elton S. Carter Award for Excellence in a Master’s Thesis competition for her thesis, “Invisible Wolves: A Memoir of Maladies.” Dr. John Price directed this thesis, and Dr. Guerra had shared this in the nomination letter: “Her thesis, like all of her nonfiction, represents an ambitious blend of autobiography and interdisciplinary research aimed at addressing important contemporary issues, especially women’s experiences of illness and medical treatment.”

Carr describes “Invisible Wolves: A Memoir of Maladies” as a combination coming-of-age story and illness narrative that seeks to find meaning in a life of uncertainty. Following the author from adolescence to motherhood, the memoir looks at how chronic illness impacts every decision and shapes her relationship with her body and sense of self. The core love story explores the nature of empathy and the question of faith as the author struggles to regain agency despite disability. Throughout the narrative, many encounters with doctors, tests, and medications reveal the limits of a broken healthcare system that consistently fails women.