A Father’s Death: The Therapeutic Power of Autoethnography

Authors

Dwayne Custer, California Institute of Integral StudiesFollow

Abstract

Autoethnography is a transformative qualitative research method that has the power to heal self and society after traumatic events (personal and collective). It is a bridge between the subjective inner world of spirit and memory with the outer world of objectivity and culture. Autoethnography is a powerful tool for manifesting change in the world. In this paper, I will address autoethnography as a transformative methodology in relationship to my father’s death when I was a young child, demonstrate the therapeutic aspects of personal narrative, and quickly address some of the ethical challenges with the process.

Keywords

autoethnography, personal narrative, qualitative research, storytelling, transformative research

Author Bio(s)

Dwayne Custer is a published author in autoethnographic research and storytelling. He has a Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology and a Master of Education in Adult and Higher Education. He is currently a doctoral student in Transformative Studies. Please direct correspondence to dwaynecuster@gmail.com.

Publication Date

2-5-2022

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5367

Recommended APA Citation

Custer, D. (2022). A Father’s Death: The Therapeutic Power of Autoethnography. The Qualitative Report, 27(2), 340-347. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5367

ORCID ID

0000-0002-5680-4046