The Loss Of My Mother, By Zach Foster

Zach Foster presents the idea that in order to feel as much like our truest selves, one must be the creator and writer of their own story. He uses techniques such as surprising imagery, great language, ironic humor, and thought provoking statements; which make the reader stop and think, and allows the reader the chance to better understand and empathize with that theme.
Precise and intriguing language is one of the strongest aspects of this piece. Zach Foster sets up his writing by introducing readers to the scenario, “The loss of my brother overshadowed every adolescent milestone of mine, including coming out as gay a few years later” (Foster, 2). In this statement, the use of upper level vocabulary words like “overshadowed, adolescent,
Afterward, Foster begins to explain his journey of coming out in a very interesting way. It is remarkable metaphor, but also a great example of personification. “I came out of the closet in waves-little ones at low tide” (Foster, 4). This is a beautiful statement. It gives readers a very clear image in their mind about how he handled this major situation in his life. It vividly gave me the image of him explaining himself, bit at a time, I could picture him telling an important detail, and then drawing back in, and then afterword explaining it again with even more confidence and detail, like how the tide comes in, and relaxes, and then comes back out. Lastly, Foster includes a great simile. “Next to cleaning up the shambles of my little brothers untimely exit, being gay had been like spilling red wine on a black rug” (Foster, 4). This simile puts into perspective how little Zach felt in the grand scheme of his life. The use of the word “shambles” gives off a bigger image of the circumstance. It makes the ashes of the brother seem more traumatic and upsetting in Zach’s life. The use of the color “red” against the black rug
I didn’t realize it at first, like I stated, I had to read this piece four times or so. If I had to put in every detail that was thought provoking and just made me stop to think for a bit, I would have to put the entire story down. “This Glee complex followed me to college when I was 19…the results were depressing. I wasn’t into Lady Gaga. I wasn’t looking to hookup…I didn’t live up to the ultra-masculine ideals or even the high-femme stereotypes of this “gay culture” and this made me lonelier than ever” (Foster, 8). I feel like this sentence and quote is especially important because it appears sort of frantic and choppy, thus shedding light on Zach’s inner emotions. It really puts everything into perspective for the readers. It makes them feel like they are thinking those things like Zach, they are forcing them out, nd forcing these typical ideas onto themselves, which makes the problem more deep. Ending the sentence with “lonelier than ever” is especially powerful because the reader knows all the other horrible things he has been through. Foster continues on to explain how he tried so many different ways to try to find “himself” and his “community” but never felt like he quite fit in, that is until he found literature. “Stumbling upon Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance and Richard Siken’s Crush…Something clicked. Losing my brother connected me unexpectedly with an earlier generation of gay men whose community was defined by loss”