Locating the Main Root: Autoethnography as Archaeology of the Self in (Re)Covering Childhood Sexual Trauma

• In Event: Turning Inward; Evolving Culturally: Yet Even More Competitive Papers in Ethnography

Abstract

This paper examines the harmful effects of secret keeping on an individual and the healing power of the spoken and written narrative. This examination is accomplished through an archeological, autoethnographic “dig” which traces the culture of this young woman’s life, and her process of healing after experiencing childhood sexual trauma. It brings into view a number of different perspectives and experiences related to the destruction of harboring secrets and personal coping and survivorship.

Author

• Kaitlin Noelle Brooks, San Diego State University