title: 'Chaos, restitution and quest': one woman's journey through menopause.
abstract: Menopause, a natural stage in a woman's reproductive life, is not an illness; yet some women experience severe enough symptoms to cause a breakdown in the body similar to illness or other major health disruptions. As part of a larger narrative analysis investigation of distress during menopause, this case study presents one woman's transformational journey through menopause, analysed through Frank's health and illness narratives - chaos, restitution and quest. The narratives were retranscribed using Labov's elements of a true story and Gee's poetic restructuring. This report of one woman's experience of distress during the menopause transition describes a poetic chaos narrative of incessant night sweats resulting in a loss of physicality and a deep-rooted belief in self-healing; a restitution narrative of restored health that mandated the surrender to a new healing discourse, experienced simultaneously as a victory and a defeat; and a quest narrative of seeking meaning, insight and new-found values and identities.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Health Professions, University of San Francisco, CA 94117, USA. mnosek@usfca.edu
authors.forename: Marcianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nosek
authors.forename: Holly Powell
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gudmundsdottir
mesh_terms: D000739:Anecdotes as Topic; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D020249:Hormone Replacement Therapy / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008016:Life Change Events; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008602:Mental Healing; D008875:Middle Aged; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D028723:Personhood; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*