Senior Book Jacket: A Senior Narrative Book Jacket by Rachel Michaels (2015)

My short story, entitled The Bench, is about a middle-aged man named Steven Murray who is awaiting his train on a humid Chicago afternoon. When Steven was in his early twenties, he had a son with his female companion; he abandoned them shortly after. On this day at the train station, he is approached by a young man who looks to be about thirty years his junior, and the two dive into a lively conversation about the delays, life, and relationships. By talking to this young man, Steven discovers that he has been sitting and chatting with his long lost son. He approaches a crossroad in which he has to decide whether or not to tell his son about this newfound knowledge. Ultimately, Steven does not tell his son as it wouldn't be justified to conveniently step into his son's life at a moment in which he is achieving success, as opposed to the time when he left his family when it was most convenient for him.

I chose to use a bench as the main image on my book jacket as the bench is the central symbol and setting for my story. The bench implies much more than just where these two initial strangers met and spoke; but it also serves as a catalyst in Steven's road to closure about his departure from family life. The colors of my book jacket are a juxtaposition of quiet and loud colors, those being tan and crimson. I thought they nicely complemented the dark neutrals of the bench I drew in Illustrator.