Me-Search and Re-Search

Book excerpt: From the Foreword: Robert and DeMethra’s book, Me-Searching and Re-Search, has caught my fancy in a number of ways. The book title cleverly captures what SPN is all about—it is about self narratives (the “me-search” part) and about scholarly meaning making (the “re-search” part). This eye-catching title also illuminates the authors’ intent to turn this seemingly intimidating method of self-inquiry into something very accessible and doable. Their jargon-free language is friendly and inviting. Although they don’t intend to make their many methodological tips and tools too prescriptive, their practical suggestions provided in this guide book are, indeed, helpful and useful. I believe that Robert and DeMethra have demonstrated admirable talents as effective educators by unpacking the complex method of SPN writing into bite-sized steps. I am fully convinced that the steps will help both novices, and the experienced researcher, to reach the ultimate height of producing engaging, and scholarly significant, SPN’s. The book is also fun to read. The authors intersperse throughout their own SPN’s, pedagogical insights from their doing and teaching, and real-life stories, in order to illustrate the methodological process, challenges, and triumphs.