The Co-authored Self

Abstract

Robust literatures have shown that developing a coherent and integrated understanding of oneself—a personal identity—is best accomplished within relational contexts. Undoubtedly one of the most fundamental relational contexts is the family. And one of the most ubiquitous activities in which families engage is storytelling. It is within the family and through these stories that the self takes on its earliest and most lasting form. These stories are often told for fun, to be close, and to feel a sense of kinship. But these stories can also confine individuals into prescribed, and unwanted, roles and identities. Thus, family stories can be fertile ground for the development of identity, as stories to react against or to embrace. This book addresses how adolescents and emerging adults negotiate with these stories to develop a personal identity, using a sociocultural framework of narrative identity development.

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