ABSTRACT

Carolyn Ellis is the leading writer in the move toward personal, autobiographical writing as a strategy for academic research. In addition to her landmark books Final Negotiations and The Ethnographic I, she has authored numerous stories that demonstrate the emotional power and academic value of autoethnography. This volume collects a dozen of Ellis’s stories—about the loss of her husband, brother and mother; of growing up in small town Virginia; about the work of the ethnographer; about emotionally charged life issues such as abortion, caregiving, and love. Atop these captivating stories, she adds the component of meta-autoethography—a layering of new interpretations, reflections, and vignettes to her older work. An important new work for qualitative researchers and a student-friendly text for courses.

part One|62 pages

Growing Up in a Rural Community, Getting and Education, and Finding My Place in Community Ethnography

chapter One|14 pages

Goin' to the Store, Sittin' on the Street, and Runnin' the Roads

Growing Up in a Rural Southern Neighborhood

chapter Two|25 pages

Talking Across Fences

Race Matters

part Two|40 pages

Becoming an Autoethnographer

chapter Four|12 pages

Reliving Final Negotiations

chapter Five|26 pages

Renegotiating Final Negotiations

From Introspection to Emotional Sociology

part Three|106 pages

Surviving and Communicating Family Loss

chapter Six|18 pages

Surviving the Loss of My Brother

chapter Seven|24 pages

Rereading “There Are Survivors”

Cultural and Evocative Responses

chapter Eight|30 pages

Rewriting and Re-Membering Mother

part Four|73 pages

Doing Autoethnography as a Social Project

part Five|54 pages

Reconsidering Writing Practices, Relational Ethics, and Rural Communities

chapter Thirteen|16 pages

Writing Revision and Researching Ethically

chapter Fourteen|36 pages

Returning Home and Revisioning My Story