Positive Autoethnography

Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky, MSc, MBA, PhD psychology is an independent consultant in Monaco and Visiting Research Fellow at the Faculty of Health and Wellbeing, University of Greater Manchester, UK.Claude-Hélène Mayer is a Professor of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Professor Claude-Hélène Mayer, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, has been awarded the prestigious HERS-SA Higher Education Women Leaders Awards (HEWLA) 2025, recognising her scientific work in the category Humanities and Social Sciences.

• Foreword; Heewon ChangChapter 1. Introduction to Positive Autoethnography; Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky and Claude-Hélène MayerChapter 2. Roots: The Journey to Contemporary Autoethnography; Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 3. History of Positive Psychology, Contemporary and Future Directions; Claude-Hélène MayerChapter 4. The Theory of Positive Autoethnography and Some Insight into Pragmatic Autoethnography; Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 5. Intercultural Positive Autoethnography (IcPosAE); Claude-Hélène MayerChapter 6. Positive Autoethnographic Case Studies; Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 7. Therapeutic Positive Autoethnography (ThePosAE); Claude-Hélène MayerChapter 8. Rocked Me Like a Hurricane! A Positive Autoethnography by Bruce Friesen; Bruce Friesen, Claude-Hélène Mayer, and Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 9. Supporting Earthquake Survivors with the Laughie: A Positive Collaborative Autoethnography from Türkiye; Gülcan Garip, Nilgün Kuru Alici, Besime Alpdoğan, Claude-Hélène Mayer, and Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 10. Reflections on the Art and Practice of Joy: A Positive Collaborative Autoethnography; Ros Ben-Moshe, Joe Hoare, Claude-Hélène Mayer, and Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 11. A Promising Partnership: Positive Psychology and Positive Autoethnography; Grant Rich, Claude-Hélène Mayer, and Freda Gonot-SchoupinskyChapter 12. Horizons: Observations on the Role and Future of Positive Autoethnography; Freda Gonot-Schoupinsky and Claude-Hélène Mayer

If the word “positive” in the book title drew you in, this is a good start. Stick with it and you will learn much about positive psychology, autoethnography, and positive autoethnography. This book reminds readers that all aspects of human experiences are worthy to be explored in autoethnography. Its theoretical and practical approach is accessible to all levels of autoethnographers.