Year: 2000 Source: Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, v.29, no.2, (April 2000), p.222-255 SIEC No: 20040792

In this article, research on youth suicide is reviewed along with a brief recounting of family systems theory & the concepts underlying life study research, which together serve as the foundation for an account of one young woman’s suicide. The role of narrative in autoethnography, the nature of story telling, & the witnessing of personal accounts by researchers are discussed in relation to the account. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of family systems, shame, & destructive relationships in the development of the self. (53 refs)