Storytelling: Walter Benjamin and recovery from alcoholism

Joel C. Beaupre

Contemporary Social Science, 2013, vol. 8, issue 1, 31-35

Abstract: What follows is a critical review of alcoholism and recovery. The objective is to examine Benjamin's account of storytelling in light of the value of stories for recovering alcoholics. The research design is qualitative, and it is explained that, because storytelling requires experience of a vanishing sort, the design must be qualitative. The method is theoretical, drawing upon Benjamin's account of the societal changes that have brought about the disappearance of the storyteller such as the predominance of information. The main outcome is that the features of Benjamin's account of storytelling are evident in the body of experience that comprises recovery from alcoholism, but not in such a way that would suggest that his account of historical change is thereby null. In conclusion, the oases of storytelling in recovery provide evidence for the erosion of experience of the kind required to have stories.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1080/21582041.2012.745592

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