The Muse-Degenerate Project is a non-linear, experimental memoir based on lived experiences of meth addiction in Atlanta. This is not a self-reflective retelling of the past; it is a real-time reflection of meth-induced mental processing, mania, and psychosis. (This is your brain on drugs).

The manuscript developed in independent sections over a ten-year time span, crafted from an amalgamation of stream-of-consciousness journal entries, personal correspondence, found text, and failed attempts at turning my bizarre life encounters into fictional short stories. Striving to stay as close to the original texts as possible, revisions were aimed at increasing rhythm and readability, and streamlining content, creating a structure from the non-sense. The majority of original misspellings, typos, and Freudian slips have been retained. Non-traditional use of punctuation is intended to indicate pace and rhythm, and to create multiple layers of meaning around various word choices. The narrative is told through multiple voices, and font choices are used to delineate shifts in voice and modes of communication.

This is a memoir, a novel, a poem, and a puzzle, all at once. It is a coming of age story and a love letter to Atlanta.

Priscilla Elizabeth Alarcon

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