The dispassionate intellectual examination of the concepts of death & dying contrasts dramatically with the emotive grieving process experienced by those who mourn. Death & dying are binary concepts in human cultures. Cultural differences reveal their mutual exclusiveness in philosophical outlook, language, and much more. Other sets of binaries come into play under intellectual consideration and emotive behavior, which further divide and shape perceptions, beliefs, and actions of individuals and groups. The presence or absence of religious beliefs about life and death, and disposition of the body and/or soul, are prime distinctions. Likewise the age-old binary of reason vs. faith. To many observers, the topic of death and dying in the Hispanic cultural tradition is usually limited to that of Mexico and its transmogrified religious festival day of Dia de los Muertos. The studies presented in the ten chapters, and editorial introductions to the themes of the book, seek to widen this representation, and set forth the implications of the binary aspects of death and dying in numerous cultures throughout the so-called Hispanic world, including indigenous and European-derived beliefs and practices in religion, society, art, film & literature. Contributions include engagement with the pre-Hispanic world, Picassos poetry, cultural norms in Cuba, and the literary works of Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Underlying the arguments presented is Saussurean structuralist theory, which provides a platform to disentangle cultural context in comparative settings.

Tamar Granot provides practical and sensitive advice on how best to support children who have experienced bereavement or other kinds of loss. She explores the effects of different kinds of loss, including the suicide of a family member, the death of a sibling, parental abandonment and the loss of a parent through divorce or addiction. She explains how loss is experienced by children and adolescents of different ages, and looks at how the circumstances of loss and the behaviour of other family members can affect a child's reaction to it. Describing the consequences it can have for children's development Granot also discusses how adults who have suffered unresolved loss in the past themselves can understand the impact of their own experiences on their parenting and professional lives.