Uses of Narrative among older adults

Location: New hampshire

role: Ethnographer

Overview

In this research project, I examined how older adults living in a low-income housing community in New Hampshire told their life histories. Through participant observation, semi-structured and unstructured interviews, extensive field notes, and diagrams of private and social spaces, I elicited narratives of living and aging in a rural area, and investigated the transition to residing in a senior living facility. I analyzed similarities in how these older adults framed and communicated their hardships and experiences, and unpacked the ways in which they imbued their stories with new meaning and purpose when telling (and retelling) them. Ultimately, I gained insight into how they used stories of overcoming past hardships to help them cope with current challenges and anticipated futures.