“I Was Their Worst Nightmare”: The Narrative Experience of Military Widows

Every year, many U.S. military families are affected by service-related deaths. However, little is known about how grief and bereavement processes are affected by military service and military culture. This study examines the experiences of military widows through qualitative, in-depth interviews. Each interview is analyzed according to narrative theory in order to understand how the participants understand their experiences with bereavement. From the data, four main themes emerge to explain how widows identify and make sense of widowhood and bereavement: (1) Shifting Identities, (2) Social Support, (3) Fractured Bereavement, and (4) (Un)Structuring Military Loss.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts in Communication

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• Wehrman, Erin Christine

Contributors dc:contributor

• Heather Carmack

• military culture
• bereavement
• death and dying
• death in the military
• narrative theory
• Communication

Statement dc:rights

• © Erin Christine Wehrman

Repository record dc:identifier

https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/1052

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:bearworks.missouristate.edu:theses-2053