Narratives of Nothing: Storying the Unlived Life

This book explores how episodes of ’nothing’, or lost experience, shape accounts of self-identity. What is the most important thing that is not in your life? We tell stories about absent people, missed opportunities, things we yearn or wish for and events that never happened. These negative phenomena hold special meanings in memory and imagination, and can have a deep emotional impact. They help us to understand who we are in relation to who we are not - our alternate, impossible selves and journeys to non-becoming. Using micro-sociological theories and the method of narrative inquiry, Susie Scott shows how people perform ’reverse biographical identity work’ to make sense of their unlived lives. With illustrative data from 195 research participants, the author identifies five types of narrative tale: passionate, enduring, transgressive, counterfactual and reflexive. These storytelling practices reveal fascinating insights into unexplored personal worlds.

Susie Scott is Professor of Sociology at the University of Sussex, UK. She specialises in theories of self-identity, interaction and everyday life, using interview and narrative methods. Her publications cover diverse research topics, including shyness, politeness, swimming pools and total institutions. She also works in clinical practice as a qualified psychotherapist.