ABSTRACT
Interpretations of the meaning of home are wide ranging, involving ideas about dwelling, private setting, family and relationships, a place of belonging and valued objects and possessions, the significance of rootedness, connection and place of origin (Oswald and Wahl, 2005). While these meanings may be seen as predominantly supportive of individual wellbeing, they sit alongside concerns about isolation, domestic abuse and social exclusion. Here the complexity of the topic emerges and home in its broadest sense is a physical, social, psychological (Sommerville, 1997; Easthope, 2004), as well as political, environment where an individual’s life history with all its relationships contextualised in time and space becomes a part of unpacking meaning and exploring continuity and change.
