“This house is so lonely!”: Home, Belonging, and Identity in Memoirs of Loss and Grief

Katarzyna A. Małecka

doi:10.18778/2083-2931.14.05

Authors

Katarzyna A. Małecka University of Lodz https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5927-3650

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-2931.14.05

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Keywords:

belonging, grief, home, identity, memoir, mourning

Abstract

This analysis explores select autobiographical representations of relationships the bereaved develop with their surroundings in the context of a major death-related loss. After a significant loss, the concepts of home, belonging, and identity are redefined, and the grieving self needs to revise its assumptive worldview to adjust to these changes. Drawing parallels between bereavement research and grief memoirs, three main themes are analyzed: 1. How hitherto familiar spaces feel both welcome and unwelcome to the bereaved; 2. How loss influences culinary settings and domestic routines; and 3. How financial factors and relocation uproot the griever’s identity and sense of belonging.

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Author Biography

Katarzyna A. Małecka, University of Lodz

Katarzyna A. Małecka is Assistant Professor in the Department of North American Literature and Culture at the University of Lodz, Poland. She is the author of numerous publications on death and grief in literature, including her recent book Grief Memoirs: Cultural, Supportive, and Therapeutic Significance (2023). She is currently working on her new project exploring bibliotherapeutic applications of grief memoirs in the clinical setting.

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