This comprehensive handbook provides a solid foundation in helping skills related to successful funeral service practice.

Wrestling with the Angel addresses the human struggle to cope with death, dying, grief, and bereavement. The book includes essays, a one-act play, a short story, and poetry, including shape poems, rhyming, structured verse, and free verse. In the one-act play, an angel of death comes for a man who has lived an unexamined life and wants to explain why he is not prepared to leave. The short story offers a humorous look at a man who resists aging by continuing to view himself as the young man he once was. The diverse genres allow for different ways of exploring these issues, but all are intended to engage the reader's emotions as well as intellect. The writings incorporate reflections and quotations addressing common human issues related to our mortality and explore reactions to the loss of a loved one--whether expected, such as the death of an aging parent or someone with a terminal illness, or unexpected, such as accidental death. The final chapters examine how aging causes us to assess our lives and why preparing ourselves for death can enhance the quality of our life. This is a book with many more questions than answers, but the reader is invited to share in the process of finding answers. It is a book that requires the reader to be comfortable with ambiguity, because the reality it describes is often ambiguous--a reality that presents us with many choices but few certainties. Intended Audience: Scholars, hospice workers, funeral home directors, hospital chaplains, ministers, and others who work with bereavement issues; classes in death education and classes for mental health professionals in death and grief; general readers who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

Clergy are in a natural position to help people who experience a variety of losses, including death, divorce, moves, and develop-mental transitions. Historically, clergy have been involved as supporters of the bereaved, yet many clergy say that their educa-tion lacked substantive teachings in this area of caring. This book is a response to this apparent need. While directed at clergy, anyone involved in this area of caregiving will find the contents of value.

Dealing with the emotions of letting go, this book explains that they are normal and natural. It teaches us to deal with our emotions and how to go about accepting the inevitable. Those who are terminally ill, their friends, and family members will gain much from the book, as will staff in hospitals, nursing homes, and other health institutions.

Death is a whisper in the Anglo-Saxon world. But on a remote island, off the coast of County Mayo, it has a louder voice. The local radio station runs a thrice-daily roll-call of the recently departed. The islanders keep vigil with the corpse and share in the sorrow of the bereaved. The living and the dead are bound together in the oldest rite of humanity. In My Father's Wake, Kevin Toolis gives an intimate, eye-witness account of the death and wake of his father, celebrating the spiritual depth of the Irish Wake and asking if we too can find a better way to deal with our mortality, by living and loving in the acceptance of death.

First published in 1987. This comprehensive book addresses the problem of adolescent suicidal behavior in America today. It devotes a great deal of attention to sublethal acts or suicide attempts, rather than committed suicides. This study establishes a progression that discusses the scope and magnitude of the problem and an exploration of the meaning and reasons for adolescent suicide in the individual case.

First published in 1995. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Losing a loved one is perhaps the most painful and overwhelming of life's experiences. It challenges you physically and emotionally, raises tough questions about the future, and incites impossible-to-answer questions about what you could have done differently. Your key to understanding all these issues ? and healing ? is your Catholic Faith. Grieving with the Help of Your Catholic Faith gives Catholics a meaningful way to help themselves or others through this challenging time. With personal stories, reassuring prayers, and spiritual wisdom, it provides: An understanding of how grief affects ? and can be lightened by ? the heart, soul, and mind The perspective to sort through difficult physical, emotional, and spiritual feelings Positive ways to deal with sorrow Empowering wisdom for building a stronger faith Tips for providing comfort to adults, teens, and children who are grieving A perfect resource for grief support groups, clergy, lay ministers, and individuals alike, Grieving with the Help of Your Catholic Faith offers comfort, empathy, and inspiration that will be relied upon time and time again.

Guidelines are presented in the book of how one can create a "helping healing relationship." Through reading and participating in the activities presented, the reader will become capable of establishing a very special kind of goal-directed experience with the grieving child. Unites interpretation of human research and grief processes to accentuate the quality of caregiving to children during their grief periods. Explained are the stages through which the grieving person must travel with help, characteristics of a caregiver are expounded, and techniques presented to create the best atmosphere for a grieving child to thrive with love and care.

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Loss and Bereavement: Managing Change "explores situations and topics which can affect any one of us at any time. This a practical guide to help provide support for those experiencing bereavement, loss, transition and change. It provides a framework for understanding specific conflicts and their effects on health. This book encourages the use of range of skills while bringing a critical yet reflective dimension to this caring work. The text considers the work, school, family and social environments. Themes and issues of experiencing loss are considered including bullying, unemployment, violence, sexual crime and anger, the death of a child, mass disaster, and suicide. The final section considers coping mechanisms, such as assertiveness, grieving and posttraumatic stress syndrome.

Key features:
Details practical applications within a theoretical framework
Encourages a range of skill with a reflective dimension
Includes contributes from a range of viewpoints

This book is written for students who are developing their skill for supporting those who are experiencing grief or transition. It is essential reading for students and practitioners in nursing, teaching, medicine, therapies, the police, the ambulance and the first aid organizations, as well as the clergy and voluntary agencies. Course leaders and lecturers will also find a wealth of information to simulate discussion groups.

'A beautifully written, profoundly moving and immersive account of grief that will bring solace.' - Louise France, The Times When Juliet Rosenfeld's husband dies of lung cancer only seven months into their marriage, everything she has learnt about death as a psychotherapist is turned on its head. As she attempts to navigate her way through her own devastating experience of loss, Rosenfeld turns to her battered copy of Freud's seminal essay 'Mourning and Melancholia'. Inspired by the distinction Freud draws between the savage trauma of loss that occurs at the moment of death - grief - and the longer, unpredictable evolution of that loss into something that we call mourning, Rosenfeld finds herself dramatically rethinking the commonly held therapeutic idea of 'working through stages of grief'. This is a beautifully written meditation on what the investment of love means and how to find your own path after bereavement in order for life to continue.

It is a privilege to know her - Jordan Henderson Quite Remarkable - David Dein Her tenacity and courage is astonishing - Prof Phil Scraton Utterly gripping - Jimmy McGovern Her strength is inspiring - Simon Rimmer ----- On the morning of Saturday 15 April 1989, Jenni Hicks, her husband, and their two teenage daughters, Sarah and Vicki, went to watch a football match. That was to be their last day as a family. Sarah and Vicki didn't come home, and Jenni's world was changed forever. Since that fateful day, Jenni has tirelessly campaigned for justice for her own and others' families. But this is not the story of the Hillsborough tragedy. This is a story of what came before and after that day: of a mother's love, her unimaginable bravery, a flame of hope that never died, and a quest for justice that has lasted three decades. It is a journey that has taken her from Allerton Cemetery to the Courts of Appeal, from the depths of despair to meetings with Prime Ministers and royalty. With the final court cases coming to a conclusion in spring 2021, Jenni's role as the longest-serving committee member of the Hillsborough Family Support Group is coming to an end - and she can finally give herself permission to grieve solely as a mother, rather than as a campaigner. One Day In April is the first time that Jenni has spoken about her story in full, and is a unique and poignant tribute to the lives that Sarah and Vicki lost, and the final word from the extraordinary mother they left behind.

OUTSIDE, THE SKY IS BLUE is a beautifully drawn, heart-breaking yet also joyful memoir of growing up, of living with mental ill health and cancer, and of working out what it means to be in a family, what it means to lose a family - and what's left when you're the last one left. When Christina Patterson's brother Tom died very suddenly, she faced the harrowing task of clearing out his house. Tom had always been the one who held on to the family treasures and memories, but now Christina had to sift through box after box of letters, papers, photos and belongings, not just of Tom's, but of their parents and their older sister, Caroline. Those boxes, albums and papers tell the story of a young couple who decide, when their children are small, to swap a glamorous diplomatic life in Rome for a housing estate in Surrey. But their new suburban life, of trips to National Trust houses, fizzy drinks over TV costume drama and walks at Wisley Gardens, is increasingly disrupted by Caroline's, erratic behaviour. As she is diagnosed with schizophrenia, Tom seeks solace in sport and Christina in a youth club where she hopes to meet boys, but finds God. 'Patterson is a passionate, funny woman who refuses simply to struggle on. She believes in living. And throwing parties. And friendship' Sunday Times

The Widow's Survival Guide shows women that they are strong enough to survive and thrive in life after loss. Within The Widow's Survival Guide, Charity Pimentel-Hyams, a widow at thirty-seven with children aged five, three, and one at the time of her husband's tragic and unexpected death, takes women through the challenges and triumphs of young widowhood. Throughout The Widow's Survival Guide, women learn: What to do directly after the death of their spouse How to support themselves and handle grieving children, even when they're falling apart What grief can look like and the symptoms it creates How to create an action plan for day-to-day life Strategies to check in with their heart and stay connected to their lost loved one

Each year, 3,000 children and young people between the ages of 1 and 19, die as a result of illness or accident.Around 5% of children will have experienced the death of a parent by the time they are 16. Statistics indicate that up to 70% of schools have a bereaved pupil in their care at any given time. Helping Children Think about Bereavement provides a four part differentiated story and activities to help normalise death and allow children to develop emotional literacy to talk about it. The author, along with Child Bereavement UK have devised activities and guidance for teachers on how to use the story to develop children's emotional literacy and prepare them for bereavement, whether it affects them personally or through a friend's bereavement. This book also offers support for teachers and parents outlining how children's understanding of death develops and what can be helpful in supporting bereaved children. The story is presented at different levels: for children aged 9-11 for children aged 7 -9 for children aged 5-7 for children who speak English as a Second Language for children in Early Years or with Learning Difficulties Details surrounding death and its aftermath are not always readily talked about or well handled. When it does happen, children need to be able to express themselves and know that their feelings are a normal part of grieving. This book is an invaluable resource for all key stage one and two teachers, teaching assistants and anyone who is involved in bereavement training.

Tens of thousands of women and families every year lose a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. The statistics are sobering--between 10% and 20% of pregnancies end in miscarriage, 1% in stillbirth, and nearly 23,000 babies die before their first birthday--but statistics alone miss the depth of the hurt. Each loss is personal and devastating. No woman is prepared to lose a baby, and caregivers are often unaware of how best to help. In Hope Beyond an Empty Cradle therapist Hallie Scott first shares her own story, as a mother whose only child, Abigail, was stillborn, and then leads readers through a healing process that makes space for heartbreak, despair, guilt, questions, and anger. Life is never the same in the wake of the loss, but a new normal is possible. The book will be a welcome resource for families who have lost a child, as well as for those seeking to care for them in their traumatic grief.

Award-winning writer and nurse Sallie Tisdale offers a lyrical, thought-provoking yet practical perspective on death and dying in this frank, direct and compassionate meditation on the inevitable. _______________________________________ From the sublime to the ridiculous, Tisdale leads the reader through the peaks and troughs of death with a calm, wise and humorous hand. More than a how-to manual or a spiritual bible, this is a graceful compilation of honest and intimate anecdotes based on the deaths Tisdale has witnessed in her work and life, as well as stories from cultures, traditions and literature around the world. As Tisdale explores all the heartbreaking, beautiful, terrifying, confusing, absurd and even joyful experiences that accompany the work of dying, she also addresses the meaning of 'a good death', how to communicate with the dying, loved ones, doctors and more, and what to expect, physically and emotionally, from the last months, days and hours of life. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, Advice for the Dying offers the resources and reassurance that we all need for planning the ends of our lives. It is essential reading for all of us.

Death is often encountered in English courses-Hamlet's death, celebrity death, death from the terrorist attacks on 9/11-but students rarely have the opportunity to write about their own experiences with death. In Death Education in the Writing Classroom, Jeffrey Berman shows how college students can write safely about dying, death, and bereavement. The book is based on an undergraduate course on love and loss that Berman taught at the University at Albany in 2008. Part 1, "Diaries," is organized around Berman's diary entries written immediately after each class. These entries provide a week-by-week glimpse of class discussions, highlighting his students' writings and their developing bonds with classmates and teacher. Part 2, "Breakthroughs," focuses on several students' important educational and psychological discoveries in their understanding of love and loss. The student writings touch on many aspects of death education, including disenfranchised grief. The book explores how students write about not only mourning and loss but also depression, cutting, and abortion-topics that occupy the ambiguous border of death-in-life. Death Education in the Writing Classroom is the first book to demonstrate how love and loss can be taught in a college writing class-and the first to describe the week-by-week changes in students' cognitive and affective responses to death. This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to writing teachers, students, clinicians, and bereavement counselors.

Death is often encountered in English courses-Hamlet's death, celebrity death, death from the terrorist attacks on 9/11-but students rarely have the opportunity to write about their own experiences with death. In Death Education in the Writing Classroom, Jeffrey Berman shows how college students can write safely about dying, death, and bereavement. The book is based on an undergraduate course on love and loss that Berman taught at the University at Albany in 2008. Part 1, "Diaries," is organized around Berman's diary entries written immediately after each class. These entries provide a week-by-week glimpse of class discussions, highlighting his students' writings and their developing bonds with classmates and teacher. Part 2, "Breakthroughs," focuses on several students' important educational and psychological discoveries in their understanding of love and loss. The student writings touch on many aspects of death education, including disenfranchised grief. The book explores how students write about not only mourning and loss but also depression, cutting, and abortion-topics that occupy the ambiguous border of death-in-life. Death Education in the Writing Classroom is the first book to demonstrate how love and loss can be taught in a college writing class-and the first to describe the week-by-week changes in students' cognitive and affective responses to death. This interdisciplinary book will be of interest to writing teachers, students, clinicians, and bereavement counselors.

When a painful loss or life-shattering event upends your world, here is the first thing to know: there is nothing wrong with grief. “Grief is simply love in its most wild and painful form,” says Megan Devine. “It is a natural and sane response to loss.”

So, why does our culture treat grief like a disease to be cured as quickly as possible?

In It’s OK That You’re Not OK, Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we try to help others who have endured tragedy. Having experienced grief from both sides―as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner―Megan writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, “happy” life, replacing it with a far healthier middle path, one that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it.

In this compelling and heartful book, you’ll learn:

• Why well-meaning advice, therapy, and spiritual wisdom so often end up making it harder for people in grief
• How challenging the myths of grief―doing away with stages, timetables, and unrealistic ideals about how grief should unfold―allows us to accept grief as a mystery to be honored instead of a problem to solve
• Practical guidance for managing stress, improving sleep, and decreasing anxiety without trying to “fix” your pain
• How to help the people you love―with essays to teach us the best skills, checklists, and suggestions for supporting and comforting others through the grieving process

Many people who have suffered a loss feel judged, dismissed, and misunderstood by a culture that wants to “solve” grief. Megan writes, “Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution.” Through stories, research, life tips, and creative and mindfulness-based practices, she offers a unique guide through an experience we all must face―in our personal lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the wider world.

It’s OK That You’re Not OK is a book for grieving people, those who love them, and all those seeking to love themselves―and each other―better.

As read on BBC Radio 4's 'Book of the Week', a timely, moving and profound exploration of how writers, composers and artists have searched for solace while facing loss, tragedy and crisis, from the historian and Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Michael Ignatieff. 'This erudite and heartfelt survey reminds us that the need for consolation is timeless, as are the inspiring words and examples of those who walked this path before us.' Toronto Star When we lose someone we love, when we suffer loss or defeat, when catastrophe strikes - war, famine, pandemic - we go in search of consolation. Once the province of priests and philosophers, the language of consolation has largely vanished from our modern vocabulary, and the places where it was offered, houses of religion, are often empty. Rejecting the solace of ancient religious texts, humanity since the sixteenth century has increasingly placed its faith in science, ideology, and the therapeutic. How do we console each other and ourselves in an age of unbelief? In a series of portraits of writers, artists, and musicians searching for consolation - from the books of Job and Psalms to Albert Camus, Anna Akhmatova, and Primo Levi - writer and historian Michael Ignatieff shows how men and women in extremity have looked to each other across time to recover hope and resilience. Recreating the moments when great figures found the courage to confront their fate and the determination to continue unafraid, On Consolation takes those stories into the present, movingly contending that we can revive these traditions of consolation to meet the anguish and uncertainties of the twenty-first century.

Finding Peace After a Suicide Loss is a refreshing and unique Christian look at the difficult and complex healing process after a suicide. Throughout Finding Peace After a Suicide Loss, the reader enters the scene of a tragic death with its shattering blow and immediate anguish. Written in a format of then and now, it affirms the horrific sadness and sorrow after a suicide of a loved one. Finding Peace After a Suicide Loss courageously tackles the spiritual battles which face every suicide survivor: guilt, shame, rejection, blame, stigma and is not afraid to ask the question, "Why God? Why?". Elaine Kennelly understands completely, as it took years for her to start moving forward with baby-steps of love, prayer, forgiveness, obedience and service. But there is victory to celebrate, as Finding Peace After a Suicide Loss shows the way to joy, real joy in a marriage that stays intact and a family that's close at hand. Overcoming a suicide loss is possible - let Finding Peace After a Suicide Loss show you how.

Find Relief from Emotional Trauma "The self-healing process mapped out in Keep Pain in the Past is based on decades of successful treatment of patients and offers help and hope to those who need it."-Dr. John Duffy, author of Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety. Move on from the grief and trauma of your past. Created by two experienced psychologists, discover a step-by-step wellness process that has provided relief for their patients. Heal old wounds. Contrary to what many people believe, we can recover from emotional trauma on our own, without thousands of dollars spent on therapists. Whether it is extreme trauma such as sexual abuse or the horrors of war or less dramatic shame and guilt, we don't need to spend years in intensive therapy to recover. A 21st century skill for treating emotional trauma. While most people know what can be done to treat physical ills like using ice on a muscle sprain they don't realize they can apply certain psychological principles to treat anxiety, depression, and other conditions. Learn from the success of others. Discover how Sheri, a 37-year-old attorney, recovered from panic attacks that seemed to come out of nowhere. Follow the journey of Mark, a 29-year-old Army veteran who experienced the horror of war in Afghanistan, as he healed from the downward spiral that had caused him to lose his job and become increasingly uncommunicative with his family. Explore how Melinda, a 42-year-old professor who struggled to sustain a romantic relationship, confronted her torturous childhood and found love that is still going strong after three years. Inside find: Tips on how to confront your emotional baggage Advice on reaching closure A path to a life not haunted by the trauma of your past If you liked books such as The Body Keeps the Score or Getting Past Your Past, you'll want to read Dr. Cortman and Dr. Walden's Keep Pain in the Past.