Death, Dying, and Bereavement : Contemporary Perspectives, Institutions, and Practices

Written by luminaries who have shaped the field, this capstone book distills the collective wisdom of foremost scholars and practitioners, who together have nearly a millennium of experience in the death and dying movement. The book bears witness to the discipline's evolution and presents the insights of its pioneers, eyewitnesses, and major contributors past and present. They address contemporary institutional developments in hospice and palliative care, funeral practice, and death education. They discuss best practices in care of the dying and bereaved and contemporary thinking in thanatology. With a breadth and depth found in no other text on death, dying, and bereavement, the book disseminates the thinking of such scholars as William Worden, David Clark, Tony Walter, Robert Neimeyer, Charles Corr, Stephen Connor, Phyllis Silverman, Betty Davies, Terrie Rando, Colin Murray Parkes, Kenneth Doka, Allan Kellehear, and others. To underscore the three broad ranges of development in the movement, the book first focuses on the interdisciplinary intellectual achievements that have formed the foundation of the field. The section on institutional innovations encompasses contributions in hospice and palliative care of the dying and their families; suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention; funeral service; and university-based death education. The final third of the book addresses spiritual support, using the arts and humanities, grief counseling across the lifespan, community-based mutual support groups, and future developments that promise to sustain, further enrich, and strengthen the discipline. Also included is a detailed guide to further, in-depth reading in the field. Key Features: Distills the wisdom of pioneers and foremost luminaries in the field of death, dying, and bereavement Includes living witness accounts of the movement's evolution and important milestones Presents the best contemporary thinking in thanatology Describes contemporary institutional developments in hospice and palliative care, funeral practice, and death education Illuminates best practices in care of the dying, bereaved, and traumatized