Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-312)
Table of contents; Introduction 11; CHAPTER I An Ambivalent Conception; Life narratives as research: Lifewriting as research methodology 17; The place of ethnic minority women's life writing in contemporary feminist research 26; Women's writings across difference: The politics of naming and positioning ethnic minority women's writings 37; Contemporary feminisms and the politics of difference: Gender, race, ethnicity, and spirituality 47; Relational ethics in lifewriting 58; Memory and lifewriting 66; CHAPTER II The Umbilical of Life: The Triple Braid; My story: A metamorphosis 73
My mother: The Empress Dowager who gave birth to me 130My papa: A silenced story of love 155; CHAPTER IIIThe Ambivalent Act of Doing Research: Reflexive and Feminist Research Methodologies; Introduction: Struggles with positioning 165; Ways of doing research (I) 167; Ways of knowing 178; Ways of writing: Understanding by writing 183; Ways of speaking 192; Ways of being: The politics of identity, hybridity & spirituality 199; Ways of doing research (II) 208; CHAPTER IV After Birth: Reflections on Writing and Negotiating the Triple Braid
My autobiographical journey: The politics of writing self and the acts of finding voice 229Reflection on writing my mother's life: Negotiating ambivalence, hope and privilege 232; Fathers, the absent but implicit in women's lifewriting 251; Negotiating the triple braid: Silences and voices of a mother, a father and a daughter 257; Metamorphosis of narratives: Narrative therapy and its implications for lifewriting 263; CHAPTER VConclusion: Bringing Together; Overview 271; Limitations of reflexive research: Limits of knowledge and methodology in lifewriting 272
Negotiating the dangers of writing culture and ethnicity 275Implications of lifewriting research on feminist scholarship, research and practice across disciplines and across difference 281; Implications of lifewriting research on practice 285; Bibliography 297
