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Deconstructing Narratives of Place, Stigma, Identity, and Substance Use in Appalachia: A Narrative Ethnography of a Women’s Transitional Recovery House

Wilson, Caroline E
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8099-4700
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1691317227666494

Abstract Details

2023, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, Communication Studies (Communication).
Master narratives of substance use and recovery in Appalachia have been largely dictated and stigmatized by outside entities, leaving little room for the complexity and nuance of the individual voices of those most intimately familiar with the topic. This dissertation explores the individual and collective stories that create the narrative of Wisdom River, a women’s transitional recovery house in Appalachian Ohio, in an effort to elevate the lived realities of those experiencing substance use disorder (SUD) and recovery in Appalachia. By centering these stories, the overarching goal of this research is to move away from homogenized, stigmatizing narratives of substance use and recovery in Appalachia and toward a new narrative that honors localized knowledge and creates space for new definitions of success in SUD and recovery organizing. Data for this dissertation were created through intentional participant observation at Wisdom River (attending weekly dinners, driving residents to and from work, participating in recovery events) and through semi-structured interviews with nine members of the organization. I also engaged autoethnographic methods to explore my own role in this narrative as the child of a parent with SUD. The research questions that guided this dissertation are rooted in narrative and identity: What narratives are at play in the narrative ecology of Wisdom River, and how do those connected to Wisdom River narratively construct their identities? As participants shared their stories with me, they explored pieces of their own narratives and identities that reify, complicate, and rebut their understandings of master narratives of SUD and recovery. By confronting master narratives of what it means to experience SUD and recovery, who deserves access to safe and dignified recovery spaces, and what it looks like to be successful in recovery, Wisdom River employs what I identify as a narrative feminist approach to 12 Step recovery. While I remain committed to the conviction that recovery will look different for different people in different places, Wisdom River’s disruptive take on a longstanding recovery strategy opens an avenue for new norms in recovery organizing—especially regarding women and other identity groups who have historically been denied authorship in master narratives of substance use and recovery.
Brittany Peterson (Advisor)
Risa Whitson (Committee Member)
Jerry Miller (Committee Member)
Lynn Harter (Committee Member)
239 p.
Communication
substance use disorders; recovery organizing; Appalachia; organizational communication; narrative ethnography

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wilson, C. E. (2023). Deconstructing Narratives of Place, Stigma, Identity, and Substance Use in Appalachia: A Narrative Ethnography of a Women’s Transitional Recovery House [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1691317227666494

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wilson, Caroline. Deconstructing Narratives of Place, Stigma, Identity, and Substance Use in Appalachia: A Narrative Ethnography of a Women’s Transitional Recovery House. 2023. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1691317227666494.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wilson, Caroline. "Deconstructing Narratives of Place, Stigma, Identity, and Substance Use in Appalachia: A Narrative Ethnography of a Women’s Transitional Recovery House." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2023. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1691317227666494

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2023, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.