The Ghostwriter Writes No More

Abstract

This narrative articulates the advantages of long-term autoethnographic logotherapy. I explore how the practice of long-term autoethnographic logotherapy led me to the point where I was prepared for my father’s death, and how that allowed me to let him go before he actually died. I propose that long-term personal narrative and autoethnographic writing are not merely a form of therapy and healing. Rather, it is a practice aligned with existential psychologist Victor Frankl’s conception of logotherapy, literally “healing through meaning.” Using vignettes, I interrogate canonical narratives about father–son relationships, especially focusing on troubled relationships, and examine standard notions of bereavement.

Critical Autoethnography, Education, and a Call for Forgiveness

“…Autoethnographers who have described others who have enacted or perpetuated personal/cultural offenses, as well as how to carry memories and scars of offenses across the lifespan include Berry (2012), Bochner (2012), Ellis and Rawicki (2013), Herrmann (2016), Holman Jones and Adams (2014), Rambo (2013), andTamas (2011).…”