Engaging Stories: Constructing Narratives of Women’s Military Band Members

Abstract

In this narrative account we engage the stories of Doris and Pat, two military bandswomen who share “similar contours of experience” (Richardson L, Fields of play: constructing an academic life. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, p. 19, 1997) despite serving in two different decades and countries, one during a time of war and the other in a time of relative peace. Confronted with multiple narrative possibilities, we wrestle with the implications of authorial privilege and question the ways in which our own life experiences and positionalities influence our retelling of Doris and Pat’s stories. We advocate not for a particular narrative technique but rather for a way of being in narrative that is grounded in humility and an openness to ambiguity.