Preferred Name
Kathleen Smith
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
5-12-2022
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
School of Communication Studies
Second Advisor
Melissa W. Alemán
Third Advisor
Kathryn Hobson
Abstract
This thesis is an embodied autoethnography that examines my experiences of accepting and coming-to-terms with my relationship with my mother through my chronic illness. Utilizing creative vignettes and short personal stories, throughout this autoethnographic thesis project I shine light to my lived experiences as a daughter in a Catholic household, diagnosed with chronic illness in adulthood. I use narrative theorizing to understand how the stories I tell in this thesis create meaning in my relationship with my mother. Through personal narratives I explore themes of autonomy and connection within a mother-daughter relationship, illness narratives and illness as a turning point, and myself and mother as wounded storytellers.
Included in
Health Communication Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Other Communication Commons
