Secrets as Storytelling: Family Histories and Interpersonal Intimacy

Keeping and telling secrets are acts of intimacy. This article explores secret-telling-friendly methodologies, capable encouraging individuals to share their life stories in own terms, with particular episodes, emotional connections, protagonists, also secrets. The openness our research design played an important part the identification role secret-storytelling understanding life. was enhanced by methodological tools mobilized during biographical interviews families (the calendar socio-genealogical tree). It testifies importance design, method lato sensu, sociological analysis Each secret connects person’s biography, social positioning, historical context, generational anchor, contributing understand more about wider social, gender, family, interpersonal, normative values given time-space coordinates. Secrets narrative devices build narratives chronologize stories, bridging biography society, exemplarily.