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New Challenges to Ageing in the Rural North pp 141–157Cite as

Hit by a Stroke: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Intergenerational Care Across Geographical Distances

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Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Aging ((Int. Perspect. Aging,volume 22))

Abstract

Increased geographical mobility, improved medical treatment, and prolonged life expectancy have changed the way of life for older persons and their next of kin. This chapter discusses intergenerational care, mainly from the next of kin’s point of view, when an older family member and the next of kin live far from each other. The study is based on my—the author’s—autoethnographic account of the experience after my father suffered a stroke a few years ago. Inspired by Ellis et al. (2011, p. 392), who stated that autoethnography may ‘analyse personal experience in order to understand cultural experience’, I use my father’s and my own experiences to analyse how geographical distance and serious illness impact intergenerational care and kinship. While I argue that intergenerational care across geographical distance creates certain vulnerabilities, this specific situation also enables and enacts kinship relations. The study focused on practical support, emotional relations, and communication technologies, and their limitations when illness hits and life changes. It also adds to our understanding of aging, illness, and care across vast geographical distances. I claim that the autoethnographic approach accommodates the subjectivity, emotions and first-hand experiences between the older person and the next of kin. This geography of intergenerational care provides new knowledge about an experience, influencing the later years, for an increasing number of individuals and service-providing municipalities, especially in regions marked by outmigration and high youth mobility.

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Acknowledgement

Thanks to Dr Sharon Rosemand, Dr. Adam Perry and Kathy Fitzpatrick for their comments on an early draft and thanks for comments from the editors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway

    Marit Aure

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  1. Marit Aure
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Correspondence to Marit Aure .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unit for Gender Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

    Päivi Naskali

  2. School of Social Work, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Joan R. Harbison

  3. Unit for Gender Studies, Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Rovaniemi, Finland

    Shahnaj Begum

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Aure, M. (2019). Hit by a Stroke: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Intergenerational Care Across Geographical Distances. In: Naskali, P., Harbison, J., Begum, S. (eds) New Challenges to Ageing in the Rural North. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 22. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20603-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20603-1_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-20603-1

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