Bringing together the fields of literary studies, medical humanities, death studies and bereavement studies, my PhD project examines the role of literature, and particularly the act of writing, in providing an insight, from maternal and paternal perspectives, into the traditionally unspoken experience that is the loss of a child. Focusing on the récit de deuil as an increasingly important genre in contemporary France, my thesis examines how literature generates knowledge of bereavement and loss, how writing impacts upon the healing process, and what all of this tells us about ongoing cultural shifts in French literary production.

Critical Medical Humanities

End-of-Life Studies

Death Studies

Bereavement Studies