Emily Wiethorn: The Death of You and Me

How does one tell a story with no beginning, middle, or end? A survivor of sexual assault and abduction, Emily Wiethorn uses this body of work to speak her truth and feel the anger society says she must leave behind. Six years ago, Wiethorn was drugged, abducted, and sexually assaulted by a man who remains a stranger to her. That time exists mostly as a black hole in her mind; memory is challenging when it’s been taken. The memories that do remain from that night haunt her. The Death of You and Me is an examination of memory, suffering, and the effects of trauma. Wiethorn’s work exists outside the confines of reality in the nonlinear path of healing, recovery, and the suffocating feeling of PTSD. Her work questions how trauma and imprisonment change one’s understanding of oneself; how trauma changes those closest to the victim; and how one tells a story with no beginning, middle, or end.