Narrative Renewal

Investigating the Practice of Writing a Grief Memoir Through the Lens of the Practitioner-as-Researcher

Abstract

The existing scholarship surrounding grief memoirs is sparse compared to the substantial body of memoir scholarship (Birkerts, 2008; Couser, 2012; Gutkind, 2012; Rak, 2013). This paper investigates my practice of writing a young widow memoir from the perspective of practitioner-as-researcher, undertaken as part of a doctorate in creative writing. Creative practice itself can act as an engine for scholarly insight. The intention is to contribute knowledge to grief memoir practice and scholarship. I argue that memoir is a genre that is well-suited to the representation of grief and that a variety of research strategies, such as the role of the first draft, crafting, research, reading and ethical considerations are quintessential components of the creative process. This article investigates these strategies as part of my process of writing a grief memoir.