What would it be like to not feel your most painful emotions? To explore this question, I used creative writing to consider psychological and sociological themes through story. The product is Safe Home — a 470-page speculative fiction novel set in a suburban, gated community designed to protect children from the dangers of the outside world. The novel explores the extreme methods parents use to suppress the pain of their children, the impact of unresolved trauma, and the struggle to live a life of joy knowing that loss could be around the corner. In this presentation, I explain my motivation for writing and share a synopsis and sample of the story.