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Published on: February 16, 2011
Creative nonfiction: narrative and revelation.
1Department of Public Health, Medicine, and Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, Box 167, New York, NY 10021, USA. cuh9001@nyp.org
Journal of Religion and Health
|May 8, 2009
Summary
Creative nonfiction and illness narratives offer powerful explorations of psychological loss and existential themes in memoir. These literary approaches facilitate deep dives into mourning, attachment, revelation, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
Area of Science:
- Literary Studies
- Psychology
- Theology
Background:
- Creative nonfiction and illness narratives are emerging literary forms.
- Memoir is a suitable genre for exploring psychological and existential themes.
- Recent memoirs by Sue Erikson Bloland and Honor Moore exemplify these approaches.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how creative nonfiction and illness narratives function in memoir.
- To explore the psychological themes of mourning, attachment, and loss.
- To examine the theological and existential issues of revelation, reconciliation, and forgiveness presented in recent memoirs.
Main Methods:
- Literary analysis of memoirs by Sue Erikson Bloland and Honor Moore.
- Examination of psychological concepts within the illness narrative genre.
- Exploration of theological and existential themes through literary examples.
Main Results:
- Creative nonfiction and illness narratives effectively convey complex psychological experiences.
- Memoirs analyzed provide rich examples of exploring mourning, attachment, and loss.
- The studied memoirs engage readers with profound theological and existential questions.
Conclusions:
- Creative nonfiction and illness narratives are valuable tools for exploring human experience in memoir.
- These literary approaches facilitate a deeper understanding of psychological and existential challenges.
- The examined memoirs offer insights into revelation, reconciliation, and forgiveness through personal storytelling.
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