Grief and loss are fundamental aspects of the human experience. This book explores the desire to make sense out of the nonsensical by exploring specific loss and grief experiences. The autoethnographic essays reflect on the unique and individual experiences of each contributor's story. Simultaneously, these experiences reveal that although their grief experience is unique, it is also cultural and collective, evoking broader cultural themes related to loss and grief. The chapters in this book represent a wide range of loss experiences ranging from the loss of a parent, child, or partner, loss within larger family systems, ambiguous and anticipatory loss to broader cultural aspects of grief. Scholars of communication, sociology, and family studies will find this book of particular interest.
Deleasa Randall-Griffiths is professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Ashland University. Patricia English-Schneider is professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College.
Table of Contents Introduction Deleasa Randall-Griffiths and Patricia English-Schneider Section I: Perspectives on Family Loss Chapter 1: A Puzzle of Love and Loss Nathan P. Stucky Chapter 2: Losing Mama Lola: An Autoethnographic Story of Caregiving and Remorse Olga Zatepilina-Monacell Chapter 3: Surviving Our Aging: A Love Letter for My Mom Lesa Lockford Chapter 4: Honoring Mom: Layers of a Daughter's Grief Sharon L. Russell Chapter 5: The Things That Knew Her: "Holding On" as a Way of "Letting Go" Deleasa Randall-Griffiths Chapter 6: "I Have a Son Named Jake...": An Autoethnographic Application of the Continuing Bonds Theory Nancy J. Brule Chapter 7: Mother, Scholar, & Co-Victim: My Son's Death by Police Homicide Elizabeth Stephens Chapter 8: Ripple Effect Faith Griffiths Chapter 9: Living Through Hell and Back: How Autoethnographic Performance Functions as a Means of Moving Through and Beyond the Grieving Process Lori L. Montalbano Section II: Broader Perspectives of Loss Chapter 10: Living with Loss: A Poetic Autoethnography Ronald J. Pelias Chapter 11: Linework Jonathan M. Gray Chapter 12: Stones on the Beach, Ashes in the Woods: Locating Grief in Place and Time Stephanie L. Young Chapter 13: Anticipatory Grief and Dementia: Mourning The Lady Who Sings Jacqueline Owens Chapter 14. "She's Not Doing it Right": An Autoethnographic Exploration of One Woman's Response to Loss Kristi P. Treinan Chapter 15: The Gift of Grief Kimberly J. Stanislo Chapter 16: Private Losses Made Public: Managing Boundaries to (Re)construct the Classroom Leah E. Bryant and Joann Martyn Chapter 17: Feminist Grief as Narrative Inquiry Meggie Mapes, Savaughn Williams, and Myleah Brewer Chapter 18: What Happens Between Support and Communal Coping? Dena M. Huisman and Wendi Bellar About the Contributors
"Narrative and Grief: Autoethnographies of Loss, edited by Deleasa Randall-Griffiths and Patricia English-Schneider, is thoughtful, provocative and vulnerable. The editors and authors capture the chaos of grief in various moments. This monograph has much to offer both lay and academic audiences dealing with grief. Through poignant autoethnographies, it addresses many thoughts and emotions that surface during grieving, but one never gives voice while providing insights into how we can heal in the grieving process." -- Margaret M. Quinlan, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
