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The Invention of Fatherhood: The Therapeutic Effects of Writing a Father's Biography

University of Utrecht, c.vannijnatten{at}fss.uu.nl

To write a biography of one's father is to engage in an internal dialogue in front of an audience. A successful biographical project may lead to a major step in the identity development of men, one that can lead to forgiveness and to a healing of the son's wounds. Dialogical processes play a crucial role, resulting in changed positions of the son in relation to the father, enabling the son gradually to separate from the father and sometimes to love him in a different way. In this article the therapeutic effects of writing a "father's biography" are investigated on the basis of some 40 such paternal biographies taken from different times and cultures.

Key Words: father-son relation • father's biography • intergenerational processes

The Family Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, 244-250 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1066480707301342


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