ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces a new method of qualitative research and writing: exo-autoethnography – a distinct ethnographic method exploring own experience as directed by the experience of other through transgenerational transmission of trauma (TTT). It focuses on two specific criticisms of autoethnography: those of truth in autoethnographic research and writing, and the questions of whose story or stories we are telling and what ethical boundaries exist in order to protect the other. By focusing on a history that impacted the self by proxy as well as the self’s past and present day, the exo-autoethnographic method aims to connect the present with a history of the other through TTT and/or experiences of an upbringing influenced by parental trauma. Instead of exclusively focusing on events experienced directly by the self, exo-autoethnography places focus on a history that impacted the self by proxy. It connects the present with a history never directly experienced, through TTT and/or experiences of an upbringing influenced by parental trauma.
