PhD Thesis Serialization: Emerging Horizons, Part Five. (2022)

Abstract:

This fifth installment of the Emerging Horizons series explores Kenzie’s digital storytelling (DST) experience (please see the introductory editorial, Crafting Meaning, Cultivating Understanding, to access the documentary film on which the series is based). Kenzie's storyline revealed how culturally accepted language and metanarratives around health and wellness can create dissonance for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer survivors as they attempt to share their experiences with others. Alternatively, the genuine conversation inherent in the Story Circle, and throughout the DST process, could promote and stimulate the re-storying of ill-fitting, “hand-me-down” cancer narratives. Specifically, the reflective intensity and co-creative nature of DST could facilitate the discovery of deeper truths, or new truths, in healthcare stories while the narrative structure and creative limitations of a digital story could empower AYAs to craft a closed ending to a perpetually open-ended cancer survivorship experience.

Lang, M.J., & Laing, C.M. (2022). Emerging Horizons, Part Five. Kenzie’s Story: Periods and Ellipses. Journal of Applied Hermeneutics. doi:10.11575/jah.v2022i2022.75370