Excavation: A Memoir

The acclaimed and groundbreaking memoir from Wendy C. Ortiz

A darkly vibrant and daring memoir, Wendy C. Ortiz's Excavation challenged the standard telling of abuse narratives when first published in 2014; over a decade later, it remains deeply prescient. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley in the late 1980s, the narrative follows the spiraling entanglement between Wendy and her eighth-grade English teacher as she becomes both victim to and participant in a simultaneously predatorial and impassioned relationship. Baited by initial praise and a false sense of control, Wendy tumbles into a dangerous dynamic that spans the duration of her teens. Artfully constructed from her own journals and decades of personal excavation, the story of this secret relationship has imprinted on Wendy and readers alike. A stunningly honest look at memory, agency, and power, Excavation will claim your whole heart.

Author: Wendy C. Ortiz
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Published: 04/15/2025
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 5.00h x 6.90w x 1.00d
ISBN13: 9780810148604
ISBN10: 0810148609
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Survival
- Biography & Autobiography | Women
- Biography & Autobiography | Memoirs

About the Author
WENDY C. ORTIZ is a writer of creative nonfiction who works in hybrid forms, essays, and memoir. She is the author of three books, all published by Northwestern University Press. Her writing has appeared in BOMB Magazine online, Joyland, The New York Times, Pleiades, Fence, and many other journals. Ortiz is a therapist in private practice in Los Angeles.