Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Recent calls for methodological innovations in the field of veterans studies have emphasized the benefits of employing narrative methods. I argue that veteran autofiction—a genre of life writing that combines elements of autobiography and fiction—can usefully and uniquely inform the field of veterans studies and provide practitioners with a useful tool for enhancing veterans’ supports. Supported by critical reflections on and an analysis of my own autofiction short story (Transition to Home), I explain how veteran autofiction can enable narrative analysis in veterans studies, provide researchers with material needed for instrumental case studies, support practitioners who are helping veterans find useful coping strategies, and elicit communal responses to veterans’ issues. In conclusion, I urge scholars and practitioners to turn to the production, dissemination, and analysis of veteran autofiction to enhance veteran supports and advance the field of veterans studies.
Source: Journal of Veterans Studies
Author: Wade P. Smith
Institution: Eastern Illinois University
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223801769