Abstract
Maureen Flaherty’s exceptionally detailed book of narrative research with Ukraine women reads not unlike a beautiful memoir, clearly shaped by her 30 years as a social worker in trauma recovery and intimate partner abuse. The reader is quickly introduced to the events that became the foundation of Flaherty’s love for Ukraine. As she travels there for the first time in 2000, she writes, “The train ride from Lviv to Simferopol is one thousand kilometers each direction—twenty-four hours to tell stories, eat home-cooked food, raise a glass of cognac for good health and friendship … ” (p. xi). Like a good memoir, the reader begins to journey along with Flaherty. Unlike a memoir, Flaherty sets her dedication to a rigorous and conscious piece of scholarly research.
Flaherty shares her understanding and application of “narrative,” both at the micro and macro levels across cultures. Using the narrative method, she gathered stories of the hopes and dreams of 18 Ukrainian women, using both individual interviews and larger group visioning sessions with women from Lviv and Seimferopol. Personal storytelling and group visioning are methods through which a foundation for peacebuilding can occur across diverse communities. Flaherty wanted to maximize their impact in this war-torn, struggling country that suffered centuries of oppression.
Flaherty makes her qualitative research methods easily approachable to community and scholarly readers by first, providing the background of Ukrainian history, demography, religion, economics, and second, through a method designed to facilitate previously unvoiced women of Ukraine. A section is dedicated to gender, empowerment, and social change. She established her standpoint through the presentation and analysis of her own life story, contextualized by her growing up years. Flaherty’s experience in researching intimate partner abuse (see Flaherty, 2010) lends to her deep interest in helping women speak the truth of their experiences in daily life. Flaherty’s feminist perspective is charged: “If we accept that patriarchy is the standard mode of operation worldwide … then we must consider that, in varying degrees, women are living a life similar to that of the colonized … ” She explores feminism and empowerment, providing an excellent primer on issues pertaining to women and peace across global contexts, including indigenous women, Middle Eastern women, and Eastern European women.
Flaherty’s text embodies her narrative research project from beginning to end, with lessons and techniques that are applicable to other marginalized groups of interest. The Appendix includes a consent form, confidentiality agreement, interview guide, and more. The bibliography is a goldmine for the narrative methodology. Flaherty’s book is recommended for qualitative researcher as well as the graduate student as an excellent learning piece on research transparency and feminist methodology. Peacebuilding With Women in Ukraine would also be a valuable textbook in a doctoral qualitative methods and data analysis course. Flaherty’s writing is detailed, heartfelt, and reflexive in her demonstration of rigorous narrative research. The reader has met a colleague in Flaherty, and undoubtedly cannot wait for her next publication.