ABSTRACT
The life stories in this chapter explore how hope, as a way of life (with its source lying either in oneself or in significant others), remained core to the life journey of the participants towards recovery and empowerment despite social suffering or challenges to recovery and empowerment. The stories of “Damayanti,” “Chethana,” “Pushpavalli,” and “Pradeepto,” showcase how “hope embedded in the self” had become the driving factor in their process of recovery and empowerment; at the same time, “Snigdha’s” story situates the source of hope in the relationship with the significant other. Across all these stories meaning of hope stayed embedded in the meaning of the future where (a) the self is perceived as independent, self-sufficient, fulfilling the dreams that have previously been denied, and (b) the essential requirement of being physically and mentally healthy is fulfilled.
