Abstract
In this autoethnography, I explain the sequence of lived experiences occurring over 25 years that taught me life’s greatest lesson: Through the right attitude, one can transform unavoidable suffering into a heroic and victorious achievement. I take the reader alongside a journey of love and loss and share the joys and trepidations of meeting my life partner at age 21, of us finding safety and belonging in each other—and building a beautiful life together—but then having to bury him when I was 35. While physical, psychological, and sociological pain should be avoided whenever possible, sometimes a painful fate cannot be changed. This autoethnography is a story of rising meaningfully above and beyond unavoidable suffering.
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Notes
- 1.
This autoethnography was written in loving memory of Dennis, my late partner, and Baby Ruth and Rusty, our beloved four-legged children. May the sound of their names always be a blessing.
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Aiken, B.D. (2024). On Tragedy and Transformation: A Logotherapeutic Autoethnography. In: McLafferty, Jr., C.L., Levinson, J. (eds) Logotherapy and Existential Analysis. Logotherapy and Existential Analysis: Proceedings of the Viktor Frankl Institute Vienna, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48922-8_8
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