Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Graduate Liberal Studies
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Graduate Liberal Studies
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Love and Loss in Spiritual Memoir

Thumbnail
View / Download
471.4 Kb
Date
2016-12-20
Author
Cunningham Taylor, Samantha
Advisor
Hall, Amy Laura
Repository Usage Stats
856
views
400
downloads
Abstract
This project represents the intersection of two of the biggest influences in my life story thus far: my Christian faith, and my older brother’s life and death. In the ten years since his motorcycle accident, writing has been one of the biggest ways for me to process my grief. By transferring my memories of the two of us from early childhood to young adulthood onto paper, I mark them as both important and permanent, rather than letting them fade with time. The first section tells about my background in writing and studying memoir. Sections two and three consist of my analysis of two spiritual memoirs that revolve around the death of a loved one. I examined Stations of the Heart: Parting with a Son by Richard Lischer, and Touching the Edge: A Mother’s Spiritual Path from Loss to Life, by Margaret Wurtele. Piece by piece I reflected on each author’s use of rhetorical tools and liturgical elements to shape a story that touches the reader’s heart and spirit. In section four, I discuss how I use my findings to build my own work. The fifth section is my personal spiritual memoir. I constructed my story following the order of worship commonly found in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), including elements such as confession, scripture and song. The story highlights my faith journey in the shadow of my brother’s death as I strive to paint a picture of an admirable young man who lived a full life in twenty short years, and to honor him and memorialize his life for those he left behind.
Type
Master's thesis
Department
Graduate Liberal Studies
Subject
memoir, death, love, loss, Christianity, faith
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13286
Citation
Cunningham Taylor, Samantha (2016). Love and Loss in Spiritual Memoir. Master's thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13286.
Collections
  • Graduate Liberal Studies
More Info
Show full item record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Rights for Collection: Graduate Liberal Studies


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University