Can art be used as a method of research? In this piece, the author demonstrates how engaging in a creative process in conjunction with analyzing social theory can be used as a method to research the development of the intellectual self. Owre shares her journey of navigating through the unspoken world of post-secondary institutional politics while searching for meaning. Using humor, theory and art, Owre leads the reader through a series of unfortunate events peppered with inspiration of academic heroes from the margins to a conclusion of self-healing and hope.

Cindy Owre is a doctoral student at the University of Alberta in the Department of Sociology where she studies incidents of child sexual abuse in fringe religious groups and the history of children's rights in Canada.