Subjective realities of rural older women's lives: A case study

This paper presents and analyzes the subjective reality of a single older r ural woman through her telling of her life story and open-ended interviews. This case study is used to demonstrate how a rural woman experiences a pos itive life experience while living with poverty, poor health, and numerous challenges and losses. The case was selected from the multiphase Rural Olde r Women's Project completed in rural Minnesota in 1986 and 1987. This repre sentation shows the respondent living her later life and adjusting to old a ge in the same ways she has always faced life's challenges-with stoicism an d tenacity, as well as patience and good humor. In the telling of her life story we recognize key values of rural older women including independence a nd privacy, balanced with a clear sense of the importance of relationships with others, and a closeness to the land. The views of informal and formal systems of service delivery are discussed and implications explored for the development of formal services which will more effectively meet the needs of rural older women.