THE POWER OF STORYTELLING: USING NARRATIVE INQUIRY TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF LIFE STORY FOR IDENTITY FORMATION

Abstract

This study explores the impact a person’s life story has on their sense of self, and how meaning is made in the creation of the life story. Using narrative inquiry, the author analyzes his grandmother’s handwritten life story journal from her adolescence in 1940-50s Oklahoma along with supplemental primary and secondary sources to determine the purpose and impact it had for her psychologically. This study also explores the importance of narrative and storytelling within family structures as it relates to group and individual identity and family cohesion. The author focuses on researcher reflexivity and the special circumstances surrounding the study of work created by a family member. The last chapter is a creative-nonfiction response to the author’s grandmother’s life story. Keywords: Narrative analysis, narrative inquiry, life story, autobiography, creative nonfiction, journal analysis, Early 20th century Oklahoma