Re-Storying My Experiences of Grief: An Autoethnography

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cityu.schoolDivision of Arts and Sciences
cityu.siteVancouver, BC
cityu.site.countryCanada
dc.contributor.authorHoshino, Karen
dc.date.accessioned2016-12-01T20:49:23Z
dc.date.available2016-12-01T20:49:23Z
dc.date.issued2016-11-30
dc.description.abstractGrief is often misunderstood and feared in Western society, leading to the disenfranchisement, isolation, and marginalisation of the bereaved, their families, and communities. In this thesis, I use the autoethnographic method to explore how my own grieving process after the death of my sister by suicide has been shaped by dominant discourse. I explore how connecting with Nature and Her metaphors can create a sense of belonging, interdependence, and healing. Moreover, I engage with contemporary grief theories and models to explore how our society's focus on the individual and the need to "move on" after a loved one's death can create a sense of alienation and disempowerment, and how we can resist such oppression. I turn to other cultures and nations to find lessons in how to grieve in a more relational, communal manner through ritual and ceremony. I then share my interactions with such narrative practices as "remembering conversations" and "definitional ceremony" to propose a structure and method of inquiry to facilitate a re-storying of a griever's relationship with their deceased loved one. This privileging of the deceased's voice in the bereaved's life and introducing them to members of their "club of life" can lead to a renewed sense of agency, relational identity, and transformation for both the teller and the listener.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11803/593
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisher.institutionCity University of Seattle (CityU)
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States
dc.rightsopenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/
dc.subjectgrief
dc.subjectautoethnography
dc.subjectnarrative therapy
dc.subjectdefinitional ceremony
dc.subjectbereavement
dc.subjectnature therapy
dc.subjectrelational identity
dc.subject.lcshGrief--Cross-cultural studies
dc.subject.lcshGrief therapy
dc.subject.lcshNature--Psychological aspects
dc.subject.lcshMind and body therapies
dc.subject.lcshEnvironmental psychology
dc.titleRe-Storying My Experiences of Grief: An Autoethnography
dc.typeThesis
thesis.degree.disciplineCounselling
thesis.degree.grantorCity University of Seattle
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts
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