Tapping autobiographical narratives to illuminate resilience: A transformative learning tool for adult educators

ABSTRACT

Adversity has always been a part of life, however, today’s hurricanes and earthquakes in increasingly populated areas, violent unrest creating a global refugee crisis, battlefield stress and work-place harassment, and the challenges of aging populations are demanding a better understanding of how individuals cope with adversity regardless of the source. One answer is resilience. This paper describes a narrative strategy that captures resilience in its many forms based on current research on resilience and transformative learning. Resilience research has moved from a focus on personality traits that help some to rebound to resilience as a process and outcome. As process and outcome, resilience is seen as a teachable attribute. This article applies two metatheories—one from resilience research and one from transformative learning—to data gathered in a qualitative research study on life-story writing. The results provide educators with a tool for facilitating resilience in their learners, clients, and patients.