A Personal Narrative Conveying Human Flourishing

Abstract

Human flourishing is gaining recognition and support as a central aim of therapeutic recreation (TR) services. However, missing from the extant scholarly literature are concrete, extensive depictions of people with disabilities who are living well. This is a critical omission because people need to be aware there are a multitude of avenues that lead to flourishing and that what flourishing looks like can differ from person to person. Furnishing portrayals of living well helps people grasp the diversity associated with flourishing and enables them to select and pursue a particular portrayal or meld multiple portrayals into a composite best suited to them and their environments. This article begins addressing the deficit by presenting a detailed portrait of human flourishing via a personal narrative. The text also discusses practical applications associated with using the personal narrative method and concludes with future objectives.