Researching Leisure in the Aftermath of Trauma: An Auto-Ethnography of Loss, Fear, and Working with Refugee Families

Abstract

In this auto-ethnographic study, I examine the tensions in conducting leisure research with communities experiencing trauma as a survivor of trauma. I use diary entries taken during times of coping with my mother’s illnesses, and during a two-week period working with Syrian refugee families in Lebanon, to explore narratives of leisure as a means to heal and belong. Results from a narrative analysis reflect (1) renegotiating an empathetic researcher identity after trauma; and (2) affordance for safe leisure and opportunities to heal. These narratives contribute to enriching understandings of self-compassion within leisure research, with a focus on the capacity for leisure researchers to meaningfully engage with their experiences to deepen their engagement with families. It is my hope findings from this study can aid researchers in reflecting on their own trauma and healing journeys – and in doing so strengthen their capacities to care for others and themselves.

Keywords:

• Auto-ethnography
• leisure
• refugee
• Trauma

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my research team in Lebanon for partnering with me for the research with refugee families. I am grateful to the refugee families who provided their voice and shared their experience. To my mother – I cannot imagine a greater privilege than being your daughter. Thank you for encouraging me to keep going and to share my story and experience. To the brave souls who experienced trauma that I have met in my research and personal life, it has been a privilege to hear your stories and have your trust to share them. May we continue on together in healing and love.

Disclosure statement

There are no competing interests to declare for this work.

Additional information

Funding

The author is supported through a BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute post-doctoral fellowship award.