Soul Stories : Voices from the Margins

Abstract

Soul Stories is an exploration of the boundaries of narrative within health and healing in the context of trauma and homelessness. It draws upon scholarly research across a range of disciplines, and is informed by Ensign's thirty years’ experience as a nurse providing health care to people marginalized by poverty and homelessness, by her personal journey through homelessness as a young adult, and by her experience of teaching critical reflective practice to health science students. Soul Stories deepens our understanding of homelessness; trauma and resilience; gender-based violence; the role of narrative in health and healing; and ways we can humanize health care for patients, providers, and communities. It contributes to civically and community-engaged scholarship in the health humanities.