The Pure Lover and the mature mourner

The literary expression of grief in David Plante’s memoir and its cultural, educational, and therapeutic significance

Bibliographic Data

ID12978422
AuthorsKatarzyna Małecka (0000-0001-5927-3650, University of Lodz, corresponding author), Katarzyna A Małecka
Year2021
Volume13
Issue4
Pages996-1009
Publication date2021-11-07
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenuePsychology and Sexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1941-9902 • E-ISSN: 1941-9899
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19419899.2021.1975805
OpenAlexW3211692566
LanguageEN
References cited33

Among multiple grief narratives published in recent decades, The Pure Lover: A Memoir of Grief (2009) by David Plante stands out in its self-reflective and nonnormative approach to grief. Focusing on same-gender partner bereavement, this qualitative study explores the following areas: (1) the cultural, supportive, and egalitarian functions of the arts in The Pure Lover; (2) select grief approaches in the context of Plante’s memoir to illustrate and verify those approaches; and (3) the memoir as a cost-effective educational and bibliotherapeutic aid for those who support, care for, and work with older LGBTIQ+ grievers. Based on lived experience, grief memoirs, a sub-genre of life writing, constitute longitudinal narrative case studies. As such, they can help deconstruct normative viewpoints and promote the cultural significance of the arts in grief support; provide scholars with verifiable literary data to update bereavement concepts and theories, especially in such underexplored areas as bereavement in older LGBTIQ+ adults; boost a more ethical and inclusive approach to grief-stricken patients and clients; and provide a low-triggering bibliotherapeutic tool in bereavement

Archaeology · Art · Context (archaeology · Expression (computer science · Grief · Literature · Memoir · Narrative · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Viewpoints · Visual arts · Art Therapy and Mental Health · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · History · Mental Health via Writing · Psychology

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