“Shadow stories” in oral interviews: Narrative care through careful listening

• Presents a new concept, “shadow stories,” in the context of oral interviews
• Provides a detailed case study illustrating shadow stories that were uncovered
• Links careful listening to the concept of narrative care

In most narrative approaches to understanding old age, the primary object of interest is the told story. However, what is often overlooked in narrative research are the untold stories – the silences, gaps, and omissions that form a type of shadow story or a story that lies just below the surface of what is said or written. This paper presents an illustrative case example of Constance to demonstrate how careful listening can help uncover hidden stories in an interview. In this case, Constance mentions two people (her brother and husband) as being important in her life yet omits them from the majority of her interview. The interviewer is able to uncover a hidden story with regard to her brother, learning important details about their relationship that would have otherwise gone unspoken. Overall, findings point to the importance of untold stories both in terms of content and as a way to empower the speaker to address topics that he or she may have otherwise thought were not of interest to the interviewer.