Living stories one day at a time: Recovery storytelling in online communities of practice

atmire.migration.oldid5466
dc.contributor.advisorSchneider, Barbara
dc.contributor.authorHedges, Amber
dc.contributor.committeememberSchneider, Barbara
dc.contributor.committeememberJohnston, Dawn
dc.contributor.committeememberEwashen, Carol
dc.date.accessioned2017-04-26T17:17:50Z
dc.date.available2017-04-26T17:17:50Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.date.submitted2017en
dc.description.abstractRecovery is an on-going, socially constructed practice that is “done” by individuals through storytelling. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate and explain how members of an online community of practice –r/stropdrinking (r/SD)– normalize recovery by crafting and enacting a recovery identity through recovery storytelling in a stigma-laden world with others. The aim of this thesis is to make sense of how self-described disordered drinkers “do” recovery in online communities of practice (CoP). I argue that alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a disorder of a person in social context, and that storytelling is the process through which recovery is enacted in the world. For data collection and analysis, I applied an autoethnographic storytelling approach. Three processes of recovery storytelling emerged: (re)storying, (re)forming, and (re)learning. These aspects are mutually interdependent and make up a recovery helix that must be nurtured through storytelling. CoP is also described as helical, made up of engagement, imagination, and alignment. These helixes work together to when people “do” recovery online, and are helpful models to unpack how recovery is done in concert with others. This thesis provides an alternative narrative about the lived experience of AUD recovery in pursuit of dismantling stigma. By telling stories about AUD recovery, I am promoting help-seeking and manifesting a social context that responds to AUD with compassionate concern.en_US
dc.identifier.citationHedges, A. (2017). Living stories one day at a time: Recovery storytelling in online communities of practice (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26777en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26777
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/3729
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectMass Communications
dc.subject.otheraddiction
dc.subject.otheralcoholic
dc.subject.otheralcoholism
dc.subject.otheralcohol abuse
dc.subject.otheralcohol use disorder
dc.subject.otheralcohol dependence
dc.subject.otherautoethnography
dc.subject.othercomputer mediated communication
dc.subject.othercommunity of practice
dc.subject.otherHelp-seeking
dc.subject.otherIdentity
dc.subject.othernarrative
dc.subject.otheronline community
dc.subject.otherRecovery
dc.subject.othersobriety
dc.subject.otherStigma
dc.subject.otherstorytelling
dc.subject.othersubstance abuse
dc.titleLiving stories one day at a time: Recovery storytelling in online communities of practice
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunications Studies
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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