Full Body Burden Essay
Tien Le
Amy Anderson
English 10
December 1, 2013
Full Body Burden “The cost of silence and the secrets it contains is high, but you don’t learn the price until later. Secrets depend upon the smooth façade of silence, on the calm flat water that hides the darker depths” (Iversen 300). Full Body Burden, a memoir by Kristen Iversen involves her past life experiences as well as the environment she grew up in. Iversen grew up in a small Colorado town nearby Rocky Flats, a secret factory developing nuclear weapons. However living next to a secret nuclear weapons plant was not her only troubles; her father also held secrets that unfolds themselves. Throughout the book there are many secrets that lurk and haunt both Iversen’s family and the community she grew up in. With secrets being upheld, consequences will arise, eventually surfacing and leaving a devastating impact on both groups. Although there were different secrets for each individual group, Iversen’s family and the community she grew up in both experience tragedy throughout. The effects both groups experienced left an unbearable wound on both the community and Iversen’s family that ultimately may not heal. Secrets in time, will always surface no matter who holds it, and eventually it will get out leading to an effect that can simply multiply. Some secrets are good to keep but not all. For example a surprise party for another is good, but information that can cause harm to others is not. I believe if the secret involves you and you are at risk of being in danger, then you should know about it. When you keep a secret, you are not only putting stress on yourself, you are also held responsible for the information. Keeping secrets from others that involves and affects them negatively shows dishonesty. There are many effects secrets can cause such as destroying relationships, raise suspicion and resentment and a false sense of reality. When destroying relationships, the people involved may lose
Amy Anderson
English 10
December 1, 2013
Full Body Burden “The cost of silence and the secrets it contains is high, but you don’t learn the price until later. Secrets depend upon the smooth façade of silence, on the calm flat water that hides the darker depths” (Iversen 300). Full Body Burden, a memoir by Kristen Iversen involves her past life experiences as well as the environment she grew up in. Iversen grew up in a small Colorado town nearby Rocky Flats, a secret factory developing nuclear weapons. However living next to a secret nuclear weapons plant was not her only troubles; her father also held secrets that unfolds themselves. Throughout the book there are many secrets that lurk and haunt both Iversen’s family and the community she grew up in. With secrets being upheld, consequences will arise, eventually surfacing and leaving a devastating impact on both groups. Although there were different secrets for each individual group, Iversen’s family and the community she grew up in both experience tragedy throughout. The effects both groups experienced left an unbearable wound on both the community and Iversen’s family that ultimately may not heal. Secrets in time, will always surface no matter who holds it, and eventually it will get out leading to an effect that can simply multiply. Some secrets are good to keep but not all. For example a surprise party for another is good, but information that can cause harm to others is not. I believe if the secret involves you and you are at risk of being in danger, then you should know about it. When you keep a secret, you are not only putting stress on yourself, you are also held responsible for the information. Keeping secrets from others that involves and affects them negatively shows dishonesty. There are many effects secrets can cause such as destroying relationships, raise suspicion and resentment and a false sense of reality. When destroying relationships, the people involved may lose