When Allergies Take a Backseat: Interpreting the Experiences of Mothers of Teenaged Children with Life-threatening Food Allergies

In this paper, I report on my doctoral study exploring the experiences of mothers of teenagers with life-threatening food allergies. Using the metaphor of a car in motion as mothers navigate this time with their children, I offer some deepened understanding of this topic: going forwards while looking backwards; allergies taking a backseat; and the teenager taking the wheel. Expectations of mothers and the roles that mothers take on are explored in this interpretive inquiry guided by Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics.