Demonstrating the Therapeutic Values of Poetry in Doctoral Research: Autoethnographic Steps from the Enchanted Forest to a PhD by Publication Path

We rarely acknowledge the achievements of doctoral candidates who fought with all they had but still lost battle and dropped out – we know so little about what becomes them. This reflective article is betrayals PhD supervisors in one institution, trauma stigma withdrawing from that writing poetry as a coping mechanism triumph completing Thesis by Publication (TBP) another institution. Thus, I build on Lesley Saunders’s idea using to operate ‘a personal capacity’ educational research. Accordingly, present an original autoethnographic poem other poetic artefacts well reflections sharpen sociological eye my story. In it, merge two different segments experiences draw image journey, moment retrospection. By doing so, illuminate struggles involved becoming independent researcher. also encourage practitioners conceive their negative research can be transformed into achievement depending stand take when faced it. Certainly, poor academic performance closely associated abandoning studies, not always case. Therefore, it hope this work may instill are struggle find voice.