The shape of absence

Abstract

The Shape of Absence is a psychological novella about Samantha Gilbert, a therapist in Edinburgh, trying to escape memories of her traumatic childhood. To survive years of neglect and isolation, Samantha’s mind has created an illusion of a happy life. Her reality begins to crack when her husband and infant child disappear without a trace. As she searches for answers, the arrival of a mysterious teenage patient, named Nina, pushes Samantha to face the truth. The story shows that Samantha is an unreliable narrator dealing with schizophrenia. Her husband, baby, and patient Nina were not real people, but coping mechanisms created by Samantha to escape her loneliness and trauma. The novella explores themes of memory and the "inner split." It ends with a tragic confrontation where Samantha can no longer contain the "inner rain" of her reality.