A Critical Autoethnographic Exploration of Narrative Momentum in Families

In communication and family studies, narrative inheritance Òprovides us with a framework for understanding our identity throughÓ the stories of those who preceded us in our families (Goodall, 2005, p. 497). Ballard and Ballard (2011) supplement the concept of narrative inheritance with the idea of Ònarrative momentum,Ó suggesting that family identity moves forward into the future through the narratives the family tells (p. 80). In this account, I question the hegemony of both concepts, particularly narrative momentum which discounts the variety of family types, while supporting the dominant cultural discourses of what defines Òfamily.Ó