"The Space Between": An Analysis of Estrangement

The Space Between examines the complicated relationships within an estranged family. The story is told from the perspectives of fraternal twins, Liza and Lucas, whose parents’ divorce prompted a closeness which was abruptly shattered when Lucas left to live with his father. After two years of not speaking, and now on the verge of beginning new lives in college, Liza and Lucas are forced to confront their issues with each other, and with their father, August, over the course of one summer together living in the same house and working at the same summer camp. It slowly becomes clear that the perfect relationship Liza believes Lucas ruined was not as perfect as it appeared, as Lucas has been silently struggling with severe anxiety for years, and Liza (along with her father and mother) has been completely oblivious. Over the course of the novella, I explore the intricacies of sibling relationships, the complexities of a dysfunctional family, and the debilitating effects of anxiety.