UVM Theses and Dissertations
Format:
Online
Author:
Bouchard, Tamar
Dept./Program:
College of Education and Social Services
Year:
2011
Degree:
MEd
Abstract:
This thesis is a scholarly account of my personal journey as a single mother to find my place in the world both spiritually and professionally. Deep personal and universalizable issues are covered including the transition from childhood to adulthood, parenting, birth, death, significant life changing events and the dramatic effect that changing spiritual, gender and religious views have on facing life challenges.
Special emphasis is centered on the importance of my feminine spirituality and the pursuit of religious/spiritual experiences within traditional and non~traditional educational opportunities up to and including the present day and my hopeful vision for the future.
My writing is heavily laced with spirituality, personal insights, stories as illustration for key points and a few surprising revelations. Surprises included the nature of growing up in Generation X with a healthy understanding and disrespect for organizations of all types, especially religious, and the effect this had on nurturing my atheist Millennial children; the actual impact of my travels in Tibet and China versus what I had expected from going; and how everything I have learned up to this point makes me more convinced than ever that pursuing further studies in Women's Spirituality is absolutely the route for me at this time and my way of making life a little bit better for those who come after me.
My hope for this thesis is to further the understanding of the general interested public of the challenges facing single mothers and their children, to show the helpful effects of a spiritual connection or search in getting through life's difficult moments, the power of writing as a means of spiritual and personal connection and to reinforce the notion that there is a still a long way to go in making our society a just place to be a woman in.
Special emphasis is centered on the importance of my feminine spirituality and the pursuit of religious/spiritual experiences within traditional and non~traditional educational opportunities up to and including the present day and my hopeful vision for the future.
My writing is heavily laced with spirituality, personal insights, stories as illustration for key points and a few surprising revelations. Surprises included the nature of growing up in Generation X with a healthy understanding and disrespect for organizations of all types, especially religious, and the effect this had on nurturing my atheist Millennial children; the actual impact of my travels in Tibet and China versus what I had expected from going; and how everything I have learned up to this point makes me more convinced than ever that pursuing further studies in Women's Spirituality is absolutely the route for me at this time and my way of making life a little bit better for those who come after me.
My hope for this thesis is to further the understanding of the general interested public of the challenges facing single mothers and their children, to show the helpful effects of a spiritual connection or search in getting through life's difficult moments, the power of writing as a means of spiritual and personal connection and to reinforce the notion that there is a still a long way to go in making our society a just place to be a woman in.