This book brings together the relevant interdisciplinary and method elements needed to form a conceptual framework that is both pragmatic and rigorous. By using the best and often the latest, work in thanatology, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, physics, philosophy and ethics, it develops a framework for understanding both what death is - which requires a great deal of time spent developing definitions of the various types of identity-in-the-moment and identity-over-time - and the values involved in death. This pragmatic framework answers questions about why death is a form of loss; why we experience the emotional reactions, feelings and desires that we do; which of these reactions, feelings and desires are justified and which are not; if we can survive death and how; whether our deaths can harm us; and why and how we should prepare for death. Thanks to the pragmatic framework employed, the answers to the various questions are more likely to be accurate and acceptable than those with less rigorous scholarly underpinnings or which deal with utopian worlds.

This final volume of ""Death and Bereavement Around the World"" reflects on some major themes: death and after-life, religion and spirituality, rites and rituals, secularist approaches, cultural variations, suicide, and other issues. The first few chapters describe progress in end-of-life care, including some new tools to evaluate hospice care (chapter 1); what children know, when they know it, and how parents can respond to questions, with some guidelines for support by schools (chapter 2); the importance of ritual (chapter 3); and, gender differences in death customs around the world (chapter 4).The transcript of a 1997 interview of John (Jack) Morgan by Pittu Laungani is presented as chapter 5. The following chapters discuss death systems and suicide (chapter 6); HIV/AIDS, including the role of cultural and economic factors in the spread of the disease (chapter 7); and grief and bereavement in the developing world, taking the AIDS pandemic as a specific challenge (chapter 8). Chapter 9 covers issues related to dying and death in Romania. In chapter 10 the focus is on the various functions and uses of names in a cross-cultural context. Roadside memorials as a pivotal healing strategy are the topic of chapter 11. Chapters 12 and 13 focus on spiritual experience with loss.The final chapter presents some conclusions, and in the Epilogue, Mary Ann Morgan honors the life, career, dying, death, and achievements of John (Jack) Morgan. The 'Final Word' includes the words of Pittu Laungani, from a book published just weeks before his death in February 2007.This work is for anyone interested in or working in death and bereavement issues, particularly academics, educators, librarians, chaplains, clergy, funeral service directors, hospice care providers and volunteers, palliative care providers, nurses, immigration officers, psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists, and counselors, especially bereavement counselors.

This final volume of ""Death and Bereavement Around the World"" reflects on some major themes: death and after-life, religion and spirituality, rites and rituals, secularist approaches, cultural variations, suicide, and other issues. The first few chapters describe progress in end-of-life care, including some new tools to evaluate hospice care (chapter 1); what children know, when they know it, and how parents can respond to questions, with some guidelines for support by schools (chapter 2); the importance of ritual (chapter 3); and, gender differences in death customs around the world (chapter 4).The transcript of a 1997 interview of John (Jack) Morgan by Pittu Laungani is presented as chapter 5. The following chapters discuss death systems and suicide (chapter 6); HIV/AIDS, including the role of cultural and economic factors in the spread of the disease (chapter 7); and grief and bereavement in the developing world, taking the AIDS pandemic as a specific challenge (chapter 8). Chapter 9 covers issues related to dying and death in Romania. In chapter 10 the focus is on the various functions and uses of names in a cross-cultural context. Roadside memorials as a pivotal healing strategy are the topic of chapter 11. Chapters 12 and 13 focus on spiritual experience with loss.The final chapter presents some conclusions, and in the Epilogue, Mary Ann Morgan honors the life, career, dying, death, and achievements of John (Jack) Morgan. The 'Final Word' includes the words of Pittu Laungani, from a book published just weeks before his death in February 2007.This work is for anyone interested in or working in death and bereavement issues, particularly academics, educators, librarians, chaplains, clergy, funeral service directors, hospice care providers and volunteers, palliative care providers, nurses, immigration officers, psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists, and counselors, especially bereavement counselors.

Have you ever had to decide what to do with an unidentified corpse by a Devonian cowshed when the herd is due in for milking? And how would you react if one of your patients was abducted by aliens? If you are a GP it seems these are routine matters. From coping with the suicide of a colleague to the unusual whereabouts of a jar of Coleman's mustard, this is the story of one rural doctor's often misguided attempts to make sense of the career in which he has unwittingly found himself. Dr Sparrow's adventures would be utterly unbelievable were they not 100% true stories. His bedside manner may sometimes leave a little to be desired but, if you're in dire straits, this doctor will have you in stitches.

"Existential and Spiritual Issues in Death Attitudes "provides:
*an in-depth examination of death attitudes, existentialism, and spirituality and their relationships; *a review of the major theoretical models; *clinical applications of these models to issues such as infertility, bereavement, anxiety, and suicide; and *an introduction to Meaning Management Theory and how it can be applied to grief counseling.
In this new volume, death is treated both as a threat to meaning "and" as an opportunity to create meaning. The first section introduces theory and methodology to connect the latest empirical research on death attitudes to the philosophical/psychological existential and spirituality literature. Part II presents the latest empirical research on subjects such as end-of-life decisions and living with HIV. The final section considers therapeutic applications to issues including suicide, infertility, bereavement, and anxiety. The concluding chapter highlights the book's common themes and provides questions to encourage further investigation of the most critical topics.
Psychologists, counselors, social workers, physicians, nurses, and religious leaders, as well as academics in the fields of psychology, gerontology, philosophy, religion, counseling, social work, sociology, and medicine will value this new resource. Main points summarize important ideas of each chapter, making it an appropriate text in courses on death and dying and/or and spirituality. Its clinical applications will appeal to practicing professionals.

"Existential and Spiritual Issues in Death Attitudes "provides:
*an in-depth examination of death attitudes, existentialism, and spirituality and their relationships; *a review of the major theoretical models; *clinical applications of these models to issues such as infertility, bereavement, anxiety, and suicide; and *an introduction to Meaning Management Theory and how it can be applied to grief counseling.
In this new volume, death is treated both as a threat to meaning "and" as an opportunity to create meaning. The first section introduces theory and methodology to connect the latest empirical research on death attitudes to the philosophical/psychological existential and spirituality literature. Part II presents the latest empirical research on subjects such as end-of-life decisions and living with HIV. The final section considers therapeutic applications to issues including suicide, infertility, bereavement, and anxiety. The concluding chapter highlights the book's common themes and provides questions to encourage further investigation of the most critical topics.
Psychologists, counselors, social workers, physicians, nurses, and religious leaders, as well as academics in the fields of psychology, gerontology, philosophy, religion, counseling, social work, sociology, and medicine will value this new resource. Main points summarize important ideas of each chapter, making it an appropriate text in courses on death and dying and/or and spirituality. Its clinical applications will appeal to practicing professionals.

What is death and why does it matter to us? How should the knowledge of our finitude affect the living of our lives and what are the virtues suitable to mortal beings? Does death destroy the meaningfulness of lives, or would lives that never ended be eternally and absurdly tedious? Should we reconcile ourselves to the fact of our forthcoming death, or refuse to "go gently into that good night"? Can death really be an evil if, after death, we no longer exist as subjects of goods or evils? How should we respond to the deaths of others and do we have any duties towards the dead? These, and many other, questions are addressed in Geoffrey Scarre's book, which draws upon a wide variety of philosophical and literary sources to offer an up-to-date and highly readable study of some major ethical and metaphysical riddles concerning death and dying.

Photography represents a medium in which the moment of death can be captured and preserved, the image becoming a mechanism through which audiences are beguiled by the certainty of their own mortality. Examining a spectrum of post-mortem images, Photography and Death considers various ways in which the death image has been framed and what these styles communicate about changing social attitudes related to dying, mourning and the afterlife. Presenting a fresh perspective on how we might view death photography in the context of our contemporary cultural milieu, this book brings together a range of historical examples to create a richer narrative of how we see, understand and discuss death in both the private and public forum. Building upon existing publications which relate explicitly to the study of death, dying and cultures of mourning, the book discusses topics such as post-mortem portraiture, the Civil War, Spiritualism and lynching. These are positioned alongside contemporary representations of death, as seen in celebrity death images and forensic photography. Uncovering an important historical contrast, in which modern notions of death are a comment on ownership or an emotionless, clinical state, Harris highlights the various ways that the deceased body is a site of contestation and fascination. An engaging read for students and researchers with an interest in death studies, this book represents a unique account of the various ways that attitudes about death have been shaped through the photographic image.

The unseen issues of grief and discriminationlesbians becoming widows The death of a life partner poses unique challenges for lesbians. Lesbian Widows: Invisible Grief reveals the touching and very personal stories of twenty-five women, including the author, who were widowed at a young age and forced to create a new life without their life partners. The book follows the widows from the time the couple met, to the time when one of the partners died, and beyond, to show how the surviving partner coped with her loss. Many lesbians feel that the intimacy felt between two women in love goes deeper than what can be experienced by heterosexual partners. Lesbian Widows: Invisible Grief reveals themes common to all these women's experiences while offering practical advice about coping techniques and resources for support. The widows discuss their efforts to create funerals and memorial services, give their accounts of the overwhelming grief throughout the first two years, and explain the legal and financial discrimination they encountered. The author provides a chapter specifically for caring family and friends, another chapter for professionals working with this sensitive population, and a bibliography of helpful coping resources. Lesbian Widows: Invisible Grief explores the topics of: caregivers/caretaking death and dying grief journeys the similarities and differences between lesbian and married widows the lack of support services for lesbian widows the legal and financial discrimination against lesbian widows the effect of being in or out on grief recovery the issues faced by widows in starting new relationships spirituality gay marriage Lesbian Widows: Invisible Grief provides an insightful look into the grieving and recovery process, inspiring hope with the knowledge that others have survived this tragedy. This moving book is an essential resource for lesbians, friends and family of lesbians, mental health professionals, medical professionals, psychiatrists, LGBT health providers, feminist and lesbian organizations, and anyone involved with grief training programs such as hospice.

Everyone has questions about death. In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers the most intriguing questions she's ever received about what happens to our bodies when we die. In a brisk, informative, and morbidly funny style, Doughty explores everything from ancient Egyptian death rituals and the science of skeletons to flesh-eating insects and the proper depth at which to bury your pet if you want Fluffy to become a mummy. Now featuring an interview with a clinical expert on discussing these issues with young people-the source of some of our most revealing questions about death-Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? confronts our common fear of dying with candid, honest, and hilarious facts about what awaits the body we leave behind.

Death strips away all of the superficial and mundane details of living and leaves behind life's bare essentials. Death is inevitable in life. It knows no boundaries. It knows no skin color, no financial or social standing. It knows nothing but itself. The paradox of Dying Declarations: Notes from a Hospice Volunteer is in its warm affirmation of life through the 'dying declarations' of patients who are peering into the cold face of death. The author reveals personal experiences about life, death, and the courage to strip away the unimportant aspects of life to make way for a clearer understanding on just what is truly important. Simple, moving stories invigorate and spark insightswhile discussing all aspects of hospice volunteering. By facing death on a regular basis, one can no longer maintain a tight grip on the masks, games, and trivialities that one uses to hide from truth. The person who looks death in the eye becomes more honest, grateful, compassionate, and humble. In Dying Declarations: Notes from a Hospice Volunteer, the author shares his experiences and the lessons he learned from the dying while working as a hospice volunteer. The stories, rather than being sad and depressing, present the author's hospice experience as being some of the most personally uplifting and enriching experiences of his life. In Dying Declarations: Notes from a Hospice Volunteer you will learn: about training for hospice work why hospice volunteers are at times more beneficial to the well-being of dying patients than family, clergy, or medical personnel the three basic tasks for a hospice volunteer how children and dogs can be beneficial for patients the impact that a dying patient can have on the life of a hospice volunteer words of wisdom about living life, directly from hospice patients Dying Declarations: Notes from a Hospice Volunteer will inspire and enlighten hospice volunteers, nurses, physicians, clergy, social workers or anyone who works for hospice or provides end-of-life care.

Death on Demand explores the polarizing role of Jack Kevorkian-"Dr. Death"-as the most visible leader of the right-to-die movement. From a feature on the cover of Time magazine to interviews on shows like 60 Minutes, Kevorkian was a high-profile figure in the right-to-die movement, capturing constant media attention as he helped more than one hundred people kill themselves. The book opens with the death of Janet Adkins in 1990-Kevorkian's first assisted suicide-then travels back to Kevorkian's medical school days and follows his nearly four decades as a lone activist. Death on Demand draws on Kevorkian's interviews and published work as well as newspaper and magazine articles to describe the doctor's publicity stunts, criminal trials, years in prison, and activities after he was paroled. Author Michael DeCesare examines Kevorkian's actions in the context of the right-to-die movement to understand his crucial role in bringing the controversial practice of assisted suicide into the public conversation.

Focusing on the "long" nineteenth century, from the French Revolution to the beginnings of Modernism, this book examines the significance of memory in this era of turbulent social change. Through investigation of science, literature, history and the visual arts, the authors explore theories of memory and the cultural and literary resonances of memorializing.
Drawing on the work of many of the most influential literary figures of the period, such as Tennyson, Scott, and Hardy, "Memory and Memorials" explores key topics such as: gender and memory; Victorian psychological theories of memory; and cultural constructions in literature, science, history and architecture.
"Memory and Memorials: From the French Revolution to World War One" employs a range of new and influential interdisciplinary methodologies. It offers both a fresh theoretical understanding of the period, and a wealth of empirical material of use to the historian, literary critic or social psychologist.
Matthew Campbell lectures in English literature at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of "Rhythm and Will in Victorian Poetry."
Jacqueline M. Labbe is senior lecturer in English at Warwick University. She is the author of "The Romantic Paradox: Love, Violence and the Uses of Romance, 1760-1830."
Sally Shuttleworth is professor of modern literature at the University of Sheffield. She is the author of "Charlotte Bront and Victorian Psychology."

The questions that surround death-Is death a harm to the person who dies? Should we be afraid of death? Can the dead be harmed? Can they be wronged?-have been of widespread interest since Classical times. This interest is currently enjoying a renaissance across a broad spectrum of philosophical fields, ranging from metaphysics to bioethics. This volume is the first to bring together original essays that both address the fundamental questions of the metaphysics of death and explore the relationship between those questions and some of the areas of applied ethics in which they play a central role. The essays in Part I of this volume examine some of the Classical approaches to fundamental metaphysical questions surrounding death, addressing in particular the question of whether a person's death can be a harm to her. The theme of the value of death is continued in Part II, with essays addressing this issue through a more contemporary lens. The essays in Part III address the related but separate issue of whether persons can be harmed by events that occur after they die. Finally, the essays in Part IV apply the metaphysical issues addressed in Parts I through III to various issues in bioethics, including the question of posthumous organ procurement, suicide, and survival after brain injury. Written by some of the most prominent philosophers working on these issues today, the essays in this volume showcase the state of the art of both the metaphysics of death and its importance to many areas of applied ethics.

This book explores the Care Trust concept promoted by central government for improving partnership working between health and social care. Using case studies and examples to raise current issues related to partnership working it explains how Care Trusts are bridging the gap between health and social care and considers how they are delivering more co-ordinated services and improved outcomes. All healthcare and social care professionals with responsibility for involved in or affected by the new partnership working arrangements will find this book useful reading.

'This book is a tribute to expert nursing. It should be seen as a celebration of all that is good in nursing. It also sets out the path for nursing that is centred on relationships - the essence of person-centred nursing is based on the quality of relationships both between nurse the client and others and also between nurses their colleagues and peers. Increasingly it is a challenge for nurses to hold on to humanistic care when we practice in a world of healthcare which is performance and fiscally driven. The concept of partnership and reciprocity runs through the book like a golden thread gleaming in a rich tapestry of person-centred practice expressed via the perspectives of the contributors. Expert practitioners working with people who have dementia have led the way in the development of person centred practice.' Pauline Ford Advisor in Gerontological Nursing Royal College of Nursing 'This book is a compendium of contemporary dementia care practice. It provides knowledge that is the foundation for a clear path to successful care outcomes. It clearly leaves no room for the ignorance that produced the uncertainty and inconsistency of past practices. If dementia can be likened to a journey of highs and lows this book shows us how to eliminate the negatives and accentuate the positives.' Bob Price Director Alzheimer Education Australia

It is not easy to understand why people kill themselves. The twentieth century witnessed tremendous growth in the number of books and articles written on suicide, but even with the progress made in research and suicidological
theory, the thoughts of suicidal individuals remain elusive.

In Katie's Diary, the journal left behind by a young woman who has committed suicide is analyzed, offering researchers and professionals unprecedented access to the thoughts and feelings of a victim of suicide
from an extremely rare source of data.

David Lester brings together a group of leaders in such diverse fields as suicidology, linguistics, and women's studies to consider Katie's writings from a variety of angles. The chapters address the content of her diary,
the presence of clues leading up to her suicide, and the way in which psychotherapy might have progressed had Katie sought treatment. A final chapter, written by Lester, evaluates the therapeutic value of keeping a journal or diary.

This unique work will generate new discussion and consideration in the field, advancing our understanding of suicide and its prevention.

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A radical revaluation of how contemporary society perceives death-and an argument for how it can make us happy. "He who would teach men to die would teach them to live," writes Montaigne in Essais, and in How to Die: A Book about Being Alive, Ray Robertson takes up the challenge. Though contemporary society avoids the subject and often values the mere continuation of existence over its quality, Robertson argues that the active and intentional consideration of death is neither morbid nor frivolous, but instead essential to our ability to fully value life. How to Die is both an absorbing excursion through some of Western literature's most compelling works on the subject of death as well as an anecdote-driven argument for cultivating a better understanding of death in the belief that, if we do, we'll know more about what it means to live a meaningful life.

The issue of death has loomed large in Chinese cities in the modern era. Throughout the Republican period, Shanghai swallowed up lives by the thousands. Exposed bodies strewn around in public spaces were a threat to social order as well as to public health. In a place where every group had its own beliefs and set of death and funeral practices, how did they adapt to a modern, urbanized environment? How did the interactions of social organizations and state authorities manage these new ways of thinking and acting? Recent historiography has almost completely ignored the ways in which death created such immense social change in China. Now, Scythe and the City corrects this problem. Christian Henriot's pioneering and original study of Shanghai between 1865 and 1965 offers new insights into this crucial aspect of modern society in a global commercial hub and guides readers through this tumultuous era that radically redefined the Chinese relationship with death.

It’s not the dream that matters, it’s the telling of the dream – the words you choose, the risks you take in externalising your mind

This is a dreamlike portrait of a body in struggle to connect with itself and others. As the narrator contends with chronic pain, and with a pandemic raging in the background, she sets out to examine the literal and symbolic role of the mouth in the life of a writer.

Merging dreams and dailies, Pathemata recounts the narrator’s tragicomic search to alleviate her suffering, a search that eventually becomes a reckoning with various forms of loss – the loss of intimacy, the loss of her father and the loss of a pivotal friend and mentor. In exacting, distilled prose, her account blurs the lines between embodied, unconscious and everyday life.

With characteristic precision, humour and compassion, Nelson explores the limits of language to describe experience, while also offering a portrait of an unnerving and isolating time in our shared history. A stunning, original experiment in interiority by the adored author of Bluets and The Argonauts, Pathemata is a personal and poetic reckoning with pain and loss, both physical and emotional, as well as an uncanny meditation on love, affliction and resilience.

Through firsthand accounts and research, Grief Education for Caregivers of the Elderly focuses on the education, training, and support of individuals who care for the elderly. This book provides caregivers with methods to cope with grief and loss and will help educators design programs that meet the needs of their consumers: the elderly and their families, friends, and service providers. From Grief Education for Caregivers of the Elderly, you'll learn how to cope with the stress and emotions of caregiving and improve the quality of services to your patients. With an emphasis on caregivers of the institutionalized elderly and the special services provided by clergy, chaplains, and pastoral counselors, Grief Education for Caregivers of the Elderly offers the caregiver or educator several model workshops focusing on grief, loss, and bereavement care. Grief Education for Caregivers of the Elderly contains proven methods and strategies that will sharpen and enhance your caregiving skills, including: focusing on the emotional responses and phases of dying, including denial, anger, and acceptance, to help patients deal with death considering physical and administrative atmosphere and your elderly population when setting goals and designing workshops to provide optimal patient/resident care discussing the themes of grief and loss, stress management, handling change, and promoting self-care for caregivers in workshops and through self-evaluations developing workshops that open with grief history surveys and attitude checklists, discuss normative development and issues of old age, and have themes based on the biological, psychosocial, and spiritual needs of the elderly person providing caregivers with an opportunity to practice what they have learned through case studies, simulated role play, open discussions, and care plan designing thinking about your own mortality and learning about your feelings and ideas of growing old Utilized at a psychiatric nursing home facility of New Hampshire Hospital, the workshop exercises in Grief Education for Caregivers of the Elderly have allowed caregivers to express personal feelings; talk about beliefs and experiences; learn about biological, psychosocial, and spiritual processes of grief and phases of bereavement; and apply these understandings and insights into typical caregiving situations. Grief Education for the Caregivers of the Elderly gives you the framework for such a program, using vignettes, composite case material, poetry, and a holistic approach to health care to emphasize the importance of your emotional health and enhanced care of the elderly.

Death and aging are two topics not often discussed together in the present literature. This innovative and informative new text bridges the fields of gerontology and thanatology. Death attitudes--defined as attitudes towards the dying process, end-of-life decision making, and death itself--are explored.
Those contributing to this volume hail from several specialized backgrounds including gerontology, death, education, and general psychology. This mix of impressive contributors adds to the interdisciplinary perspective of the text. Readers, both professionals and students, will gain insight into these previously uncharted, but closely related, territories.

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Contents:
Introduction to the Study of Loss. Definitions and an Accurate-Making Perspective. Loss of Close Others to Death. Loss of Close Others by Divorce or Dissolution. Loss due to Senseless Violence. Loss due to War adn Genocide. Loss due to Disease Processes and Accidents. Improverishment, Homelessness, and Loss of Employment. An International Perspective on Loss and Trauma: The Case of Romania. Disenfranchised Grief and Stigmatization. Adaptation. Epilogue: Practical Strategies for Coping with Major Loss. References.

The unexpected death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in Paris on August 31st 1997 led to a period of mourning over the next week that took the world by surprise. Major institutions - the media, the royal family, the church, the police - for once had no pre-planned script. For the public, this was a story with an ending they had not anticipated. How did these institutions and the public create a cultural order in the face of such disorder? Both those involved in the mourning and those who objected to it struggled to understand the depth and breadth of emotion shaking Britain and the world.
Mourning was focused on London, where Diana's body lay, and on Diana's home, Kensington Palace. Throughout the city and especially in Kensington Gardens, millions left shrines to the dead princess made of flowers, messages, teddy bears and other objects. In towns and villages around the UK, this was repeated. The mourning was also global, with media dominated by Diana's death in scores of countries. The funeral itself had a record-breaking world television audience, and messages of condolence floated around the globe in cyber-space.
How unique was all this? Does it mark a shift in the culture of mourning, of the position of the monarchy, of the role of emotion in British culture? How does it compare with the mourning for other super-icons - JFK, Evita, Elvis, and Monroe? Was it media-induced hysteria? Or was it simply a magnification of normal mourning behaviour? Focusing on the extraordinary actions of millions of ordinary people, this book documents what happened and shows how a modern rational society coped with the unexpected in a proto-revolutionary week that left participants and objectors alike asking 'why did we behave like this?