Stories in Action and the Dialogic Management of Identities: Storytelling in Transplant Support Group Meetings

In this article, I examine the practice of storytelling in a transplant support group, investigating how individuals’ participation in storytelling activities allowed them to coconstruct collective and individual identities. The sequential ordering and contexts of the storytelling activities in the support group meetings suggest that both the speakers and audience strategically negotiated the meanings of stories as well as identities that emerged. Both the storytellers and the audience incorporated storytelling activities into the management of multiple goals (e.g., identity management, uncertainty management, and communicative efficacy). I conclude with a conceptual framework that outlines the practice of dialogic management of identities through storytelling activities by individuals with chronic illness.