My Father,the “Wounded Storyteller”: A Postchaos Narrative

Abstract

This article is an attempt to bring healing to one of the many lives that has been deeply affected by the events of September 11, 2001. The author believes that her father’s narrative from that day in New York is similar to what Arthur Frank called a “chaos narrative,” and the author gives voice to her father’s pain and frustration to help heal him and to enrich their relationship. The author’s father’s narrative of that day introduces the article; next, the author contrasts her own relatively muted experience with his. Frank’s chaos narrative concept is discussed as well as the author’s reasons why she believes her father’s narrative is a “postchaos” narrative. The article concludes with a short update on how the author’s father is today and how this article has affected their relationship.