Home and Career Development: A Life History of Elia Hill Swann, 1878-1961, with Implications for Counseling

Abstract

This study is based on a life history of a woman born in 1878 who, at the age of eighteen, left her farm home in an isolated rural area to make a life in an urban career. Her life history parallels and extends our understanding of the experience of modern day women who leave home for careers in distant areas. It is also an example of the experience of women of a rural diaspora. The results identify ways that home and memories of home can support women's career development over the lifespan. The qualitative data analyzed in this study leads to recognition of how home can support the launching as well as reinventing of a career by providing a source of strength for women who are far from home. In addition, a woman's home and reminiscence of home can provide a source of comfort and support during times of emotional or financial hardship. Women who are from outside the mainstream American urban/suburban culture, such as women whose homes are in rural or non-European American areas, need to be prepared for difficulties that can arise while becoming acculturated in a commercial, consumer culture. Finally, implications for counseling are discussed.