What is it about?
In this chapter, in the edited collection by Francesca Cavallerio, we use a creative non-fiction (CNF) approach to explore experiences of ‘positive pain’, drawing on data collected as part of a PhD study conducted by Gareth. This ethnographic study employed a sociological-phenomenological theoretical approach to generate novel insights, and a richer and deeper understanding of the competitive swimming lifeworld, including how competitive swimmers must learn over time how to distinguish and interpret different types of pain. Furthermore, swimmers must develop specific coping strategies in order to make the pain ‘actively absent’, allowing them to ‘shut it out’ and continue to push their bodies to, and often beyond, their limits.
Featured Image
Photo by Brian Matangelo on Unsplash
Why is it important?
We wanted to make more accessible to a wider audience the findings from this fascinating doctoral research study by Dr Gareth McNarry, and the use of creative non-fiction is an excellent way to 'bring to life' lived experience.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘I’m Hurting but I'm Buzzing', September 2021, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.4324/9781003038900-8.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
