1 : an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable

2 : a place of privacy or safety : refuge

3 : a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director

After my final interview with Mom and Dad in 2009, I retreated back to the page.  After seeking refuge in my journal for months, the seeds of our final narration started to take root.

But figuring out how to reframe our narrative structure around my own personal experience still felt daunting.  Inspired by a mapping project my dear friend Vassi had recently shared with me, I decided to map out “my journey in this film.”

This is what I came up with: