Chasity, I really enjoyed your memoir. I was able to figure out exactly why the events in the piece have made you into who you are today, making the subject matter perfect for your memoir. I struggled a little bit with all of the back and forth between you telling us a story and you speaking to the reader directly in present tense. I think the piece would be more effective if you found a way to incorporate everything you are trying to let the reader know without having to tell them directly. For example, instead of saying “Even at 25, my mind can easily slip back into my very first memory” after having just said that the year was 1995, I would say, “The first memory I have of my mom is from when I was five years old sitting in the back
