ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS MANDALA SPRINGS by Juleen Collins Florida International University, 2018 Miami, Florida Professor Debra Dean, Major Professor MANDALA SPRINGS is the small town setting for a story that explores the nature of secrets, lies, revelations, and the damage each can cause. The narrative follows Bodhi MacLachlan, a young woman who struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder, back to the psychiatric hospital where she has resided in-patient multiple times. The long-term association with her psychiatrist becomes complicated when she reveals details of her affair with a secretive man. Meanwhile, she becomes obsessed with uncovering the mysteries of the relationship between a new patient, Scott, and his much younger sister, Ollie, to whom he is guardian. As Bodhi proceeds, she unintentionally but irreparably damages her relationships with each of these characters. Ultimately, she must come to terms with the consequences of her actions. To reflect the complicated, upside down world of psychiatric illness, the story is written in the hybrid form of a playscript-novel.
