Benefits of Autoethnography

The next morning we wake as the sun rises to one of the best days for hiking: sunny, cool, and dry. We head to breakfast, and we begin to stuff ourselves with pancakes and warm maple syrup, coffee, and Tang, followed by scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, grits, potatoes, and sausage. “I kept thinking last night about all you have told us,” Cindy says. “And then I wondered about the benefits of autoethnography.”

“There are many benefits, but let me focus on two,” says Carolyn, digging into her second helping of hot pancakes. “First, there are many therapeutic possibilities of autoethnography for authors, participants, and audiences. Second, autoethnographers do not want to exploit others just for the purpose of research; ...

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