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Chapter 13 - Biographies in the Name of God

Exploring Important Autobiographical Memories of Members of Christian Orders

from Part III - How Deviating Autobiographical Memories Shape the Life Story

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  aN Invalid Date NaN

By
Tabea Wolf
Edited by
Christin Camia  and
Annette Bohn
Christin Camia
Affiliation:
Zayed University Abu Dhabi
Annette Bohn
Affiliation:
Aarhus University
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Summary

Culture offers a unique set of values and traditions that profoundly impact how individuals narrate their life stories. When asked to recall important autobiographical memories, individuals can draw on internalized cultural norms and expectations to define what is appropriate for inclusion in their life stories. But how is the life story told when people choose a path that prevents them from experiencing culturally typical life events such as getting married and having children? This chapter explores the life stories of 48 religious sisters in comparison with the life stories of 48 women from the general population. Like many life stories, important memories of religious sisters center on important themes such as family life (i.e., parents and siblings), education, and work-related events. They rate their memories similarly in terms of emotional valence and subjective control. Moreover, both groups show a typical reminiscence bump in their memory distribution. Despite these remarkable overlaps, two issues are discussed as possibly specific to religious life stories: the predominance of early (negative) life experiences and the (redeeming) decision to join the consecrated life.

Keywords

life storyreminiscence bumppositivity biasculturallife scriptreligious sisters

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Type
Chapter
Information
Autobiographical Memory and the Life Story
New Perspectives on Narrative Identity
 , pp. 278 - 304
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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