At this point, I encourage the reader to explore ‘The Mighty’ platform. It was created in 2014 by Mike Porath to support individuals with health conditions, such as chronic disabilities or mental health issues, by providing relevant resources, creating a safe space for communication, and encouraging them to share their personal narratives. I invite you to read the post by Dan Dillenback (2024), a caregiver to his young wife affected by trigeminal neuralgia, whose story supports the idea that narratives can provide a rich and detailed account of one’s experience:

'Am I a Good Husband or Bad Caregiver?' When You Become Care...

While reading this story, I came to understand Clandinin's (2023) idea that attending to an experience involves considering all three commonplaces: temporality, sociality, and place. Dan’s experience is in a temporal transition between the past, the present, and the future. Twelve years ago, he was scared and could not understand his wife’s perspective when she wanted to keep living life the same way as before her diagnosis. Now, he is in the midst of uncertainty, questioning whether he is making the right choices by defending his wife’s decision to pursue her regular activities despite the risks to her health. But at the same, he sees himself continuing to support this decision in the future, hopeful for a “joyful, fulfilling, and longer life together.” Looking at this story from a sociality commonplace allows us to view social and personal contexts shaping one’s experiences. Dan is both a husband and a caregiver to his wife; he is a dad for two school-age children, carrying out financial obligations for his family; he is experiencing guilt and hopefulness while trying to manage multiple responsibilities. The third commonplace—place—considers the physical context of experience. While readers do not know Dan’s geographical location, we can consider ‘The Mighty’ platform as a digital place for his experience. This digital place may be as impactful as a physical setting, showing that Dan is seeking support and information by turning to an online community of people with similar experiences.

From this brief analysis of Dan’s story, we can gather numerous details about the experience of caregivers for their spouses. Attending to all three commonplaces allows us to consider the various contexts impacting one’s story, providing a rich description. I have chosen ‘The Mighty’ platform because it contains many stories, drawings, and pictures, each telling a multi-faceted story of someone’s health-related experience. But the question remains: why would we use narratives in research?

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