Storying Later Life Issues, Investigations, and Interventions in Narrative Gerontology

by Kenyon, Gary; Bohlmeijer, Ernst; Randall, William L.

• ISBN13: 9780195397956
• ISBN10: 0195397959
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In its brief but vigorous history, gerontology has spawned a broadening range of specializations. One of the newest of such specializations is narrative gerontology, so named for its emphasis on the biographical, or inside, dimensions of the experience of aging. Telling stories about our world, our relationships, and ourselves is fundamental to how we make meaning. Everything from our history to our religion and our memories to our emotions is linked to the tales we tell ourselves, and others, about where we have come from and where we are going. They are central to who we are. The biographical side of human life is every bit as critical to fathom as the biological side, if we seek a more balanced, positive, and optimistic perspective on what aging is about; if we would honor the dignity and complexity, the humanity and uniqueness of the lives of older persons, no matter what their health or economic standing. In this respect, a narrative approach is particularly suited to the exploration of such topics as meaning, spirituality, and wisdom, and the connections they share. This volume reflects a selection of new directions and insights, and constitutes a general broadening and deepening of narrative gerontology, exploring its implications for theory and research in the field of aging, and for the quality of life of older adults themselves. Such deepening indicates a greater refinement of thought, method, and intervention. The evolution of narrative gerontology is also evidenced by a significant increase in the number of faculty and graduate students engaged in research in this area, as well as by increasing collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and administrators in applying narrative insights to contexts such as long term care - indeed, healthcare in general. These initiatives have given rise to the phrase, "narrative care as core care".

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. IX
Acknowledgments	p. XI
Preface	p. XIII
Contributors	p. XIX
Issues
Narrative Foreclosure in Later Life: Possibilities and Limits	p. 3
Memory, Metaphor, and Meaning: Reading for Wisdom in the Stories of Our Lives	p. 20
Narrative Events and Biographical Construction in Old Age	p. 39
Inventing Yourself: How Older Adults Deal with the Pressure of Late-Modern Identity Construction	p. 51
In Waves of Time, Space, and Self: The Dwelling-Place of Age in Virginia Woolf's The Waves	p. 66
The Narrative Frame in Discourse on Aging: Understanding Facts and Values Behind Public Policy	p. 84
Investigations
The Power of Stories Left Untold: Narratives of Nazi Followers	p. 101
Young Bodies, Old Bodies, and Stories of the Athletic Self	p. 111
The Raging Grannies: Narrative Construction of Gender and Aging	p. 126
Narrative and Gender Differences: How Men and Women Interpret Their Lives	p. 143
Telling Stories: How Do Expressions of Self Differ in a Writing Group Versus a Reminiscence Group?	p. 159
Mnëmë and Anamnësis: The Contribution of Involuntary Reminiscences to the Construction of a Narrative Self in Older Age	p. 177
Achieving Narrative Coherence Following Traumatic War Experience: The Role of Social Support	p. 195
Using Self-Defining Memories in Couples Therapy with Older Adults	p. 213
Interventions
On Suffering, Loss, and The Journey To Life: Tai Chi as Narrative Care	p. 237
Older Adults in Search of New Stories: Measuring the Effects of Life Review on Coherence and Integration in Autobiographical Narratives	p. 252
Reminiscence Interventions: Bringing Narrative Gerontology into Practice	p. 273
Life Review Using Autobiographical Retrieval: A Protocol for Training Depressed Residential Home Inhabitants in Recalling Specific Personal Memories	p. 290
ôGreen and Grayö: An Educational Program to Enhance Contact Between Younger and Older Adults by Means of Lifestories	p. 307
Implementation of Narrative Care in The Netherlands: Coordinating Management, Institutional, and Personal Narratives	p. 319
Asking the Right Questions: Enabling Persons with Dementia to Speak for Themselves	p. 338
The Ripple Effect: A Story of the Transformational Nature of Narrative Care	p. 354
Afterword: Toward a Narrative Turn in Health Care	p. 366
Index	p. 381
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