This exegesis explores the processes around the drafting of my creative thesis, The Rocks Between the Waves, a contemporary and near historical novel set in New Zealand and North America. The novel explores the psychological impacts of dislocation and uprooting, as well as the effects of intergenerational childhood trauma, narcissistic behaviour, religiosity and wish-fulfilment upon family relationships, in particular between father and children, viewing those experiences through multiple viewpoints and voices, and the often unreliable lens of memory.