Sociology: death and dying Books

Book SynopsisThis is the story of how and why a talented writer came to take his own life. When Diana Athill met the man she calls Didi, an Egyptian in exile, she fell in love instantly and out of love just as fast. Didi moved into her flat, they shared housework and holidays, and a life of easy intimacy seemed to beckon. But Didi's sweetness and intelligence soon revealed a darker side - he was a gambler, a drinker and a womanizer, impossible to live with but impossible to ignore. With painful honesty, Athill explores the three years they spent together, a period that culminated in Didi's suicide - in her home - an event he described in the journals he left for her to read as 'the one authentic act of my life'.Trade ReviewOnly a few totally honest accounts of a human life exist. To see the truth of your own life you must have gotten beyong all illusions about yourself, and probably about the world, as well. Few of us do. Diana Athill is one of the few. * Washington Post *A book which gives a new dimension to honesty, a new comprehension to love * Vogue *Anyone who believes that human relationships are important cannot fail to be moved by this book * Daily Telegraph *An extraordinary memoir * Good Homes *

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Book SynopsisGoing Underground: The Meanings of Death and Burial for Minority Groups in Israel is about the attitudes towards death and burial in contemporary society. It provides information on the attitudes of several minority groups living in Israel today, including four communities of Russian Jews, an ultra-religious Jewish community and a Palestinian-Christian community. ‘Going Underground’ has a double meaning: it refers to the actions taken by archaeologists to inquire about the past and present and involves digging and recording. Second, it considers the challenges and protests launched by the groups of immigrants and minorities mentioned in the book, against state-control over death.Table of ContentsPreface and acknowledgments ; Reflections on death and burial ; Methodology: The northern cemetery ; The interviews: The northern cemetery ; The urban cemetery, kibbutz cemetery and public cemeteries ; A nominalist approach: Archaeology of remembrance and contemporary archaeology ; Conclusion: The assemblage theory, or is there an anthropology of death and burial?

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Book SynopsisCovid-19 has created trauma, death and destruction as well as challenged us for transformation of our existing society, economy and polity. The book engages with the challenges of transformations as a consequence of this. It brings reflections from several disciplines and thought practitioners from around the world. It explores challenges of transformations in economics, politics, self, science and society for living meaningfully in a post-pandemic world. It also explores pathways of creative planetary futures that we need to cultivate with and beyond Covid-19.

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Book SynopsisSupporting the Child and the Family in Paediatric Palliative Care provides a comprehensive overview of good practice in caring for terminally-ill children, young people and their families.Drawing from extensive personal experiences of working in paediatric palliative care, the author provides guidance on issues including symptom management and pain relief; cultural, religious and spiritual aspects of care; and the role of education for life-limited children. Addressing the importance of individual needs, the book looks at emotional, social and cognitive support at different stages of the illness, how parents and professionals can respond to children's own questions about death, and the impact of life-limiting illness on the whole family - including grandparents and siblings. The material offers helpful suggestions on how to support families in making informed choices during distressing periods, such as where their child will die and how to prepare for the funeral.This book is a practical and invaluable tool for nurses, paediatricians, hospice care staff, bereavement counsellors and all those caring for life-limited children.Trade ReviewA book with practical ideas, supported by references from the literature and the findings of recent research projects. -- Educational Book ReviewThe book will be invaluable to anyone thinking of working in this area and will also service those already established in this field. I highly recommend it. -- Nursing StandardUseful practical help is offered on the support of children and families as they make difficult choices at very stressful times, this will be appreciated by all professionals working in this area... Supporting the Child and the Family in Pediatric Care is a most helpful and accessible book... The multi disciplinary approach would make it a useful tool to all medical, pastoral or support staff. -- Evelyn Cairns, Scottish Journal of Healthcare ChaplaincyTable of ContentsForeword. Introduction. Introduction to Paediatric Palliative Care. 1. The Historical Background of Paediatric Palliative Care. 2. Working Collaboratively. Responding to Holistic Needs from Diagnosis through to Terminal Care and Bereavement. 3. Assessment of Needs and Models of Care. 4. Managing Children's Pain. 5. The End of Life Phase of Care. 6. Administrative and Practical Requirements When a Child Dies. 7. The Child's Funeral. 8. Counselling Support. 9. The Financial Impact of Caring. Meeting Individual Needs. 10. Children's Developmental Understanding and Emotional Response to Death and Dying. 11. The Impact of Life-limiting Illness on the Family. 12. Continuing Bonds. 13. Working with Siblings of Life-limited Children. 14. Grandparent Support. 15. Religious, Cultural, Secular and Spiritual Aspects of Care. 16. Post Mortem, Organ Donation and Tissue Retention. 17. The Education of the Life-limited Child. 18. Transition from Paediatric Palliative Care to Adult Services. 19. Acknowledging Staff Stress and Providing Support. The Way Forward. 20. Maintaining the Quality of Care. 21. The Role of Research and Development in Children's Hospices. References. Subject Index. Author Index.

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Book SynopsisThe debut collection by poet and visual artist James Kearns is a twisting, Chekhovian narrative interrogating mortality, permanence and self-deception. The speaker of these addictive prose poems becomes increasingly lost in dialogue with himself, a deceased superhero, and a supporting dramatis personae who offer humour and hostility in equal parts.

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Book SynopsisProbes into the meaning of death and into the human capacity for suicide or voluntary death. This book presents an analysis of the state of mind of those who are suicidal and who actually do commit suicide.Trade Review"On Suicide seeks to explore the state of mind those who are suicidal. It moves beyond the science to plumb the depths and explore the contradictions of the person facing such angst... The closed and dark is seen from within and for that it is immensely moving and fascinating."--The Expository Times, May, 2000 "On Suicide seeks to explore the state of mind those who are suicidal. It moves beyond the science to plumb the depths and explore the contradictions of the person facing such angst... The closed and dark is seen from within and for that it is immensely moving and fascinating."--The Expository Times, May, 2000Table of ContentsTranslator's PrefaceTranslator's IntroductionPrefaceI. Before the LeapII. How Natural is Death?III. To Lay Hands on OneselfIV. Belonging to OneselfV. The Road to the OpenNotes

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Book SynopsisThe neurological criteria for the determination of death remain controversial within secular and Catholic circles, even though they are widely accepted within the medical community. In Determining Death by Neurological Criteria, Matthew Hanley offers both a practical and a philosophical defense.

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Book SynopsisLiving in Death's Shadow is essential reading for everyone seeking to understand what it means to live with someone suffering from a chronic, fatal condition, including cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, and heart disease.Trade ReviewRecommended. All readers.—Choice. . . impressive contribution to the history of caring.—H-Net ReviewsHistorians of medicine, particularly death and dying, will find plenty of food for thought and inspiration for future scholarship in this study. But this book is also a timely political salvo, and it is to be hoped that it will be read widely for it is an astute and accessible critique of current attitudes and policies surrounding dying.—Society for the Social History of MedicineIn this book, the problems of palliative care are described from a slightly different angle (that of the relatives and carers), and I think most people who work in palliative care will find it a worthwhile read.—International Association for Hospice and Palliative CareLiving in Death's Shadow is essential reading for everyone seeking to understand what it means to live with someone suffering from a chronic, fatal condition, including cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, and heart disease.—Nursing and Health ScienceTable of ContentsIntroduction1. "The Human Touch"2. "Hope Became a Companion in Our Home"3. When Medicine Fails4. Caring by Kin5. The Shadow Workforce in Hospitals and Nursing HomesThe Evolution of Hospice CareConclusionAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisNamed a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, The New York Times Book Review, NPR, and Chicago Tribune, now in paperback with a new reading group guideMedicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should.Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced. Nursing homes, devoted above all to safety, battle with residents over the food they are allowed to eat and the choices they are allowed to make. Doctors, uncomfortable discussing patients'' anxieties about death, fall back on false hopes and treatments that are actually shortening lives instead of improving them.In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly

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Book SynopsisFrom the moment we first open our homes - and our hearts - to a new pet, we know that one day we will have to watch this beloved animal age and die. This book makes a forceful case that our pets, and the love we bear them, deserve better. It asks - and answers - the toughest questions pet owners face.Trade Review"Pierce has made an important contribution to the small body of literature dealing with aging and death in companion animals.... It should be required reading for every pet owner. Readers will identify with Pierce's feelings of ambivalence and see something of their own pets as they read about Ody's antics and challenges. Recommended." (Library Journal) "The best nature book this year (and also the best dog book) is immeasurably also the saddest.... This great little book is not a happy reading experience-but for dog people, it'll be a massively cathartic one." (Open Letters Monthly) "A book that all loving pet owners should read. Nothing will make the prospect of ending a good friend's life any easier, but at least it can help those awful decisions feel less of a stab in the dark." (New Scientist)"

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Book SynopsisLOS ANGELES TIMES AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER • The powerful memoir of a young doctor and former college athlete diagnosed with a rare disease who spearheaded the search for a cure—and became a champion for a new approach to medical research.“A wonderful and moving chronicle of a doctor’s relentless pursuit, this book serves both patients and physicians in demystifying the science that lies behind medicine.”—Siddhartha Mukherjee, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene David Fajgenbaum, a former Georgetown quarterback, was nicknamed the Beast in medical school, where he was also known for his unmatched mental stamina. But things changed dramatically when he began suffering from inexplicable fatigue. In a matter of weeks, his organs were failing and he was read his last rites. Doctors were baffled by his condition, which they had yet to even diagnose. Floating in and out of consciousness, Fajgenbaum prayed for a second chance, the equivalent of a dramatic play to second the game into overtime.Miraculously, Fajgenbaum survived—only to endure repeated near-death relapses from what would eventually be identified as a form of Castleman disease, an extremely deadly and rare condition that acts like a cross between cancer and an autoimmune disorder. When he relapsed while on the only drug in development and realized that the medical community was unlikely to make progress in time to save his life, Fajgenbaum turned his desperate hope for a cure into concrete action: Between hospitalizations he studied his own charts and tested his own blood samples, looking for clues that could unlock a new treatment. With the help of family, friends, and mentors, he also reached out to other Castleman disease patients and physicians, and eventually came up with an ambitious plan to crowdsource the most promising research questions and recruit world-class researchers to tackle them. Instead of waiting for the scientific stars to align, he would attempt to align them himself. More than five years later and now married to his college sweetheart, Fajgenbaum has seen his hard work pay off: A treatment  he identified has induced a tentative remission and his novel approach to collaborative scientific inquiry has become a blueprint for advancing rare disease research. His incredible story demonstrates the potency of hope, and what can happen when the forces of determination, love, family, faith, and serendipity collide.Praise for Chasing My Cure“A page-turning chronicle of living, nearly dying, and discovering what it really means to be invincible in hope.”—Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit“[A] remarkable memoir . . . Fajgenbaum writes lucidly and movingly . . . Fajgenbaum’s stirring account of his illness will inspire readers.”—Publishers Weekly

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Book Synopsis**PRE-ORDER NOW: MURDER ISN''T EASY: THE FORENSICS OF AGATHA CHRISTIE, THE FASCINATING NEW BOOK BY CARLA VALENTINE**''Part memoir and part manifesto, Valentine''s book lifts the lid on daily life in the mortuary . . . Valentine bares her own soul . . . with visceral attention to physical and emotional detail'' - Wendy Moore, Guardian''A fascinating portrait . . . one seriously intriguing read'' - Glamour''A grisly topic, but a glorious read'' - Mail on SundayA day in the life of Carla Valentine - curator, pathology technician and ''death professional'' - is not your average day. She spent ten years training and working as an Anatomical Pathology Technologist: where the mortuary slab was her desk, and that day''s corpses her task list.Past Mortems tells Carla''s stories of those years, as well as investigating the body alongside our attitudes towards death - shedding light on what tTrade ReviewIt is an understatement to say that Valentine is passionate about embracing death ... Part memoir and part manifesto, Valentine's book lifts the lid on daily life in the mortuary ... [Valentine] bares her own soul ... with visceral attention to physical and emotional detail -- Wendy Moore Guardian a fascinating portrait ... one seriously intriguing read Glamour There are sections of Valentine's writing that fondly brought back my first post-mortem experience. Rather than listening to the pathologist's monologue about coronary arteries, I was mesmerised by the painstaking focus of the APT ... Valentine succeeds in presenting her trade as a caring one. -- Kate Womersley Spectator

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Book SynopsisThe Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most photographed structures in the world. It's also the most deadly. Since it opened in 1937, more than 1,500 people have died jumping off the bridge, making it the top suicide site on earth. This title leads us on a journey that uncovers the reasons for the design decision that led to so many deaths.Trade Review"The appearance of the publication of this sensitive and humane apologia signifies the continuing struggle for maturity and depth in an American civilization capable of creating such a breathtaking path of sculptured steel across the entrance to a bay and a city so evocative of life." San Francisco Chronicle "The appearance of the publication of this sensitive and humane apologia signifies the continuing struggle for maturity and depth in an American civilization capable of creating such a breathtaking path of sculptured steel across the entrance to a bay and a city so evocative of life." Salt Lake Tribune "Compelling... The Final Leap is a highly readable book ... [and] is accessible to a wide range of readers." -- Tony O'Brien Metapsychology Online Review "Masterful... It is hard not to be emotionally moved by this relatively slim volume... Gripping, informative, maddening, and saddening." -- Daniel S. Weiss PsyccritiquesTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Prologue 1. Beauty and Death 2. Fatal Decisions 3. Endless Ripple 4. Opening Up 5. Surviving the Fall 6. In Lieu of a Net 7. Guardians of an Icon 8. The Barrier Debate Epilogue Appendices A. Explaining Suicide B. Help and Resources C. Golden Gate Bridge Suicides Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSuitable for students and scholars of American culture, African-American literature, literary theory, gender studies, queer theory, and cultural studies, this book presents an exploration of death's relation to subjectivity in twentieth-century American literature and culture.Trade Review“Raising the Dead is a tour de force filled with provocative, original, and imaginative observations and insights. Sharon Holland draws on a dazzling range of influences and interprets an impressive array of diverse cultural forms as she asks and answers crucial questions about ancestry, origins, and heritage in African American and Native American life and culture.”—George Lipsitz, University of California, San Diego“A thorough, challenging, and compelling investigation of the themes of subjectivity, death, and their interrelation in twentieth-century American literature and culture.”—Emory Elliott, University of California, Riverside“A work of theoretical power and brilliant interpretive prowess.”—Wahneema Lubiano, Duke UniversityTable of ContentsAcknoweldgments ix Introduction: Raising the Dead 1 1 Death and the Nations Subjects 13 2 Bakulu Discourse: Bodies Made "Flesh" in Toni Morrison's Beloved 41 3 Telling the Story of Genocide in Leslie Marmon Silko's Almanac of the Dead 68 4 (Pro)Creating Imaginative Spaces and Other Queer Acts 103 5 "From this Moment Forth, We Are Black Lesbians": Querying Feminism and Killing the Self in Consolidated's Business of Punishment 124 6 Critical Conversations at the Boundary between Life and Death 149 Epilogue 175 Notes 183 Selected Bibliography 209 Index 227

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Book SynopsisA New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller “Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The New YorkerTrade Review"Doughty is a relentlessly curious and chipper tour guide to the underworld, and the weirder things get, the happier she seems.… Her dispatches from the dark side [are] doing us all a kindness—offering a picture of what we’re in for, even if we’d rather not know." -- New York Times Book Review"Illuminating.… From Here to Eternity humanizes rituals that might otherwise seem unfathomable." -- Paste"Thought-provoking.… Unless you and your friends are immortal, this book pertains to you." -- A. J. Jacobs"Caitlin Doughty is razor sharp, and writes about death with exceptional clarity and style. From Here to Eternity manages to be both an extremely funny travelogue and a deeply moving book about what death means to us all." -- Dylan Thuras, co-founder of Atlas Obscura"Doughty writes bluntly about open-air cremations, natural burials and body composting, bringing a little more clarity and a little less mystery to the question: 'What happens to us after we die?'" -- NPR"The macabre travelogue is a thoughtful reflection and a smart critique of the American funeral industry, with plenty of gallows humor thrown in." -- Smithsonian"From Here To Eternity is fascinating, thought-provoking and—who would have guessed?—sometimes funny. Put it on your bucket list." -- Mail on Sundays"It sounds a bit like Eat, Pray, Die, but her project is much larger than its premise first implies. She is searching not for personal spiritual enlightenment or the morbid titillation of thana-tourism, but for practical, radical alternatives to our corporatized death industry. Her travels illuminate a host of compelling possibilities for better funerals and a less fraught relationship with our dead." -- New Republic"Doughty finds the humanity in others cultures' relationship with death that seems to be lacking in ours." -- VICE"This humane book gently provokes you to wonder: what exactly is your ideal funeral?" -- The Times

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Book SynopsisAn in-depth look at how mortuary cultures and issues of death and the dead in Africa have developed over four centuriesIn My Time of Dying is the first detailed history of death and the dead in Africa south of the Sahara. Focusing on a region that is now present-day Ghana, John Parker explores mortuary cultures and the relationship between the living and the dead over a four-hundred-year period spanning the seventeenth to twentieth centuries. Parker considers many questions from the African historical perspective, including why people die and where they go after death, how the dead are buried and mourned to ensure they continue to work for the benefit of the living, and how perceptions and experiences of death and the ends of life have changed over time. From exuberant funeral celebrations encountered by seventeenth-century observers to the brilliantly conceived designer coffins of the late twentieth century, Parker shows that the peoples of Ghana have developed one of the world's moTrade Review"[A] bold, sweeping analysis of the actions of the living in commemorating the dead over several centuries of Ghana’s history." * Choice Reviews *

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Book SynopsisUtterly fascinating. —Bill BrysonAn incredible journey. —Siddhartha Mukherjee*WINNER OF THE 2025 ASSOCIATION OF AMERICAN PUBLISHERS PROSE AWARD FOR BEST BOOK ON BIOLOGY*A groundbreaking exploration of the science of longevity and mortality—from Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki RamakrishnanThe knowledge of death is so terrifying that we live most of our lives in denial of it. One of the most difficult moments of childhood must be when each of us first realizes that not only we but all our loved ones will die—and there is nothing we can do about it.Or at least, there hasn’t been. Today, we are living through a revolution in biology. Giant strides are being made in understanding why we age—and why some species live longer than others. Could we eventually cheat disease and death and live for a very long time, possibly many times our current lifespan?Venki Ramakrishnan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and former president of the Royal Society, takes us on a riveting journey to the frontiers of biology, asking whether we must be mortal. Covering the recent breakthroughs in scientific research, he examines the cutting edge of efforts to extend lifespan by altering our physiology. But might death serve a necessary biological purpose? What are the social and ethical costs of attempting to live forever?Why We Die is a narrative of uncommon insight and beauty from one of our leading public intellectuals.

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Book SynopsisBOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SPECTATOR AND THE TIMES'Fascinating.... Deeply disturbing... Brilliant' Sunday Times'Powerful and moving.' Louis TherouxMeet Adam. He's twenty-seven years old, articulate and attractive. He also wants to die. Should he be helped? And by whom?In The Inevitable, award-winning journalist Katie Engelhart explores one of our most abiding taboos: assisted dying. From Avril, the 80-year-old British woman illegally importing pentobarbital, to the Australian doctor dispensing suicide manuals online, Engelhart travels the world to hear the stories of those on the quest for a 'good death'.At once intensely troubling and profoundly moving, The Inevitable interrogates our most uncomfortable moral questions. Should a young woman facing imminent paralysis be allowed to end her life with a doctor's help? Should we be free to die painlessly before dementia takes our mind? Or to choose death over old age? A deeply reported portrait of everyday people struggling to make impossible decisions, The Inevitable sheds crucial light on what it means to flourish, live and die.Trade ReviewThere's plenty of compassion, plenty of nuance and plenty of complex thought. Engelhart is a skilled storyteller... Her brilliant book should be prescribed to all those who think they have a clear view [on the right to die]. * Sunday Times *Powerful and moving. Engelhart recounts the stories of those she meets with humanity and grace. * Louis Theroux, bestselling author of Gotta Get Theroux This *Deeply researched and beautifully reported... [Engelhart] writes compassionately of her subjects' struggles. * The Economist *A brilliantly sensitive and deeply moving account of assisted dying. * Stephen Westaby, Sunday Times bestselling author of Fragile Lives *Table of Contents0: Introduction 1: Modern Medicine 2: Age 3: Body 4: Memory 5: Mind 6: Freedom 7: The End

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Book SynopsisLa muerte no existe, es un hecho normal y no duele. Morir bien es de vital importancia y la forma en que nos vamos deja un gran legado a los que se quedan. Acompañar a un ser querido en este viaje es una lección absolutamente transformadora. El niño que se enfadó con la muerte es fruto del conocimiento clínico de Enric Benito, un médico que tras una crisis existencial abandonó la oncología para dedicarse a acompañar a enfermos y familiares en sus últimos días. Unas páginas llenas de experiencia y sabiduría sobre la parte más desconocida de la muerte, con historias auténticas y profundamente conmovedoras que nos enseñan a liberarnos del miedo que suscita lo desconocido para poder vivir con plenitud. Un libro que te ayuda a derribar tabúes, humanizar y normalizar el proceso de morir.

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Book SynopsisWith the growth of English cities during the Industrial Revolution came a booming population too vast for churchyards. Beckett Street Cemetery in Leeds was to become the first municipal cemetery in the country. This study relates how the cemetery was started and run, and describes the developing feuds between denominations. The author draws upon newspaper articles, archive material and municipal records to tell the stories of many of the people who lie there, from tiny infants, soldiers and victims of crime to those who perished in the great epidemics of Victorian England. The study throws new light on the occupations and pastimes of the inhabitants of Victorian cities, their problems with law and order, their attitudes to children, education and religious provision.

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Book SynopsisAriA]s traces Western man's attitudes toward mortality from the early medieval conception of death as the familiar collective destiny of the human race to the modern tendency, so pronounced in industrial societies, to hide death as if it were an embarrassing family secret. -- NewsweekTrade ReviewAries traces Western man's attitudes toward mortality from the early medieval conception of death as the familiar collective destiny of the human race to the modern tendency, so pronounced in industrial societies, to hide death as if it were an embarrassing family secret. Newsweek An astounding story, told with the incisiveness and mastery characteristic of Aries's work. -- Robert Darnton New York Review of Books 1974Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1. Tamed DeathChapter 2. One's Own DeathChapter 3. Thy DeathChapter 4. Forbidden DeathIndex

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Book Synopsis'The Light Beyond' is based on more than a thousand case studies of adults and children who clinically reached the point of death and survived, as well as amazing new research. It shows the many striking similarities shared by all near-death experiences (NDEs), and uncovers secrets and opens the doors to a powerful message of love from the frontier between life and death. Raymond Moody's research throws new light on the following topics:--how recent findings in medicine, psychiatry and sociology bring us closer to unravelling mankind's greatest mystery: what happens to us after we die?--Startling, newly confirmed phenomena such as: the experience of meeting one's loved ones in the afterlife and the ability to 'tap into' knowledge of any sort--What the moving near-death experiences of children can teach us--Why NDE's inspire permanent change, greater appreciation of life, more concern for others, increased belief in an afterlife, and decreased fear of death--Why doctors want more research into near-death experiences-and much more Based on Dr Moody's groundbreaking studies, 'The Light Beyond' offers both answers and peace of mind to anyone who has ever wondered about death and beyond.

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Book SynopsisHow digital technology—from Facebook tributes to QR codes on headstones—is changing our relationship to death.Facebook is the biggest cemetery in the world, with countless acres of cyberspace occupied by snapshots, videos, thoughts, and memories of people who have shared their last status updates. Modern society usually hides death from sight, as if it were a character flaw and not an ineluctable fact. But on Facebook and elsewhere on the internet, we can't avoid death; digital ghosts—electronic traces of the dead—appear at our click or touch. On the Internet at least, death has once again become a topic for public discourse. In Online Afterlives, Davide Sisto considers how digital technology is changing our relationship to death.Sisto describes the various modes of digital survival after biological death—including Facebook tributes, chatbots programmed to speak in the voice of a dead person, and QR codes on headstones—and dis

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Book Synopsis''Dr Moore''s 1000-day-plus journey evocatively and beautifully describes the mental devastation that personal loss can leave in its wake and offers us the remarkable combination of expert commentary and an intensely personal captivating narrative.''- Peter Fonagy OBE, Professor of Contemporary Psychoanalysis and Head of Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, UCL''A book that appeals to different audiences. It will reach out to those who have lost loved ones and need the comfort and solace of knowing that they are not alone in their suffering.''- Luisa Stopa, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of SouthamptonVanessa''s husband Paul dies suddenly and tragically on their regular Sunday morning swim. How will she cope with her dilapidated house, her teenage children, the patients who depend on her? Will therapy help? Why do mysterious white feathers start appearing in unexpected places?As a clinical psychologist, Van

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Book SynopsisWhile much needs to be done in order to minimize the suicide attempts and suicides of adolescents, the work of Stop Youth Suicide (SYS) campaign and the comprehensive grassroots approach is showing signs of success in the state of Kentucky. The 2013 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) showed that for the first time, indicators of youth suicide in the state are at or below the national average, where they were previously always above. In the three rural counties where the school systems have partnered with SYS and the Division of Adolescent Medicine in Lexington, there is an actual absence of completed suicides compared to the average of three per year prior to this partnership. In order to maintain and improve that statistic, we must ensure that students do not have easy access to weapons, guns and drugs by ensuring that these items are properly stored in homes where children are present. Kentuckys educators must continue to develop ways to provide safe and supportive school environments. In this book, the authors have gathered presentations from the 2017 Annual Stop Youth Suicide Campaign Conference, which we hope will be of interest and help to the readers.

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Book SynopsisA demographic analysis of suicide rates among American and Canadian Indians. Lester examines the validity of statistical information finding a higher suicide incidence than current figures present, discussing general patterns, causes, psychological and sociological factors, suicide rates in differen

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Book SynopsisMontaigne Medal Finalist, Eric Hoffer Awards Against Death&nbspis an anthology of creative non-fiction exploring the psychological shifts that occur when we prematurely or unexpectedly confront death. Against Death is a natural outgrowth of the editor's experience of surviving a vertebral artery dissection and stroke and the subsequent writing&nbspof a long poem memoir about the event. To be "against" something can mean two different things at the same time. "Against" can mean pressed up close to something, yet it can also signify refusal. These texts deal with the affects of this proximity, taking into account any meaning of the word. Rather than showcase only extreme survival stories or difficult biological situations, the pieces in Against Death consider the ways we make sense of death on a personal level and how we integrate that thinking as we continue forward. Against Death articulates the personal experiences of each author's "near-deathness," utilizing fresh and inventive language to represent what "magical thinking" proposes. These pieces are incisive and articulate, avoiding the usual platitudes, feel-good bromides, and pep talks associated with near-death encounters. The writing moves past the sob story and confronts the tough circumstance of facing death with truth and compassion, no matter how ugly or (in)convenient. Contributors include: angela rawlings, Joe Average, Aislinn Hunter, Jennifer van Evra, Maureen Medved, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Bruce Meyer and many others.

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Book SynopsisWith sensitivity and insight, this series offers suggestions for healing activities that can help survivors learn to express their grief and mourn naturally. Acknowledging that death is a painful, ongoing part of life, it explains how people need to slow down, turn inward, embrace their feelings of loss, and seek and accept support when a loved one dies. Each book, geared for mourning adults, teens, or children, provides ideas and action-oriented tips that teach the basic principles of grief and healing. These ideas and activities are aimed at reducing the confusion, anxiety, and huge personal void so that living their lives can begin again.

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Book Synopsis''I was musing on Singapore in all its affluent glory still having shrines for the dead on every street corner during The Festival of the Hungry Ghosts''. Then I was musing on how the socially mobile of modern western society eschew death rites and grieving in the name of ''holding it together'' and being progressive. I thought of which civilizations are falling and which are rising again, and wondered whether acknowledging death and the ancestors is a vital part of a maintaining personal identity and our place in society. I remember how my grieving father mourned for all the information he had relied on his deceased wife remembering; information which was now lost. I recalled Michael Crichton''s words If you don''t know (your family''s) history, then you don''t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn''t know it is part of a tree.'' Then I thought maybe someone should write about the cults of the ancestors and death, perhaps an anthology, perhaps cross relate experiences of loss to personal spirituality and magick and history. I know that years of working with the dead in the name of art and spirituality, didn''t prepare me for the death of my mother. What helped me was the advice of someone from a long tradition of working with the ancestors. I think that collecting the experiences of spiritual practitioners in their working with grief and death is part of a living and necessary tradition that will give respect to the dead and strength, identity and support to our own personal spirituality.'' Within this book are rituals, stories, traditions and experiences of magicians'' scholars and artists who work with death. Some of the contributors such as Nema, Mogg Morgan, Louis Martine and Nevill Drury (to name but a few) have helped define contemporary transformative spirituality. Others are less well known but just as learned. As there should be in such a collection there is comedy, anger confrontation and practicality. This anthology is about who we are, and where we come from. It is also about how we change. A Contemporary Western Book of the Dead contains voices and visions that acknowledge our past, feed our present and guide the direction of our future.

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Book SynopsisBook & CD-ROM. International comparisons of mortality aimed at revealing age-specific and time-specific differences in survival between Denmark and nine developed countries have been carried out by estimating surfaces of ratios of death rates in the last decades. To gain deeper insights into this phenomenon comparative analyses of death rates by causes of death for Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Japan have been performed. The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM including colour Lexis maps, graphs of trends in death rates by causes of death, animated graphs of common survival indicators and a Lexis program for producing Lexis maps.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of ‘The Prehistory of Sex’ – a coruscating, insightful history of the human soul.Trade Review‘Perceptive, radical and elegantly written. His quest for answers takes us on an extraordinary journey, like time travellers in the boneyards of history…All this is achieved with the style of a consummate storyteller.’ Bel Mooney, The Times ‘Like a thriller-writer he deploys cliff-hanging chapter endings. Like a good novelist he is unafraid of human emotion. As an archaeologist he knows how to sort and wash bones. As a thinker he restores dignity to these unnamed bodies by holding them compassionately with his words.’ Michele Roberts, Independent on Sunday ‘Sit back and revel in this riveting exploration of our collective ancestral psyche.’ Sunday Herald ‘Illuminating.’ Scotsman

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Book SynopsisArguing that death is the central force shaping our social life and order, Michael Kearl draws on a wide variety of disciplines to provide a broad sociological perspective on the interrelationships of life and death. He shows how death contributes to social change, and how the meanings of death are generated to serve social functions.Working from a social as well as a psychological perspective, Kearl analyses traditional topics, including ageing, suicide, grief, and medical ethics. He also examines current issues such as the impact of the AIDS epidemic on social trust, governments'' use of death in symbolism, the business of death and dying, the political economy of doomsday weaponry, and death in popular culture.Trade Review'Michael Kearl's book should inject much-needed impetus to such academic reflection ... there is much of value in this textbook ... Kearl uses all the media available to him to lend substance to his arguments. Indeed it is this richness, together with the breadth of his inquiries, that lies at the heart of the text's strength ... written clearly and, most importantly, by someone who has obviously tried to convey many of the ideas verbally in classes and seminars. It is, consequently, both stimulating and readable.' Dr Tim Newburn, National Institute for Social Work, London, BJGC, Volume 21, No. 1, January 1993

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Book SynopsisIn spite of society''s wish to protect and insulate children from death, the experience of loss is unavoidable and there is surprisingly little guidance on how to help children cope with grief and bereavement. Never Too Young to Know: Death in Children''s Lives is the first book to bring together diverse fields of study, offering a practical as well as multifaceted theoretical approach to how children cope with death. Using stories of children''s own experiences supported by data from a large research study, Silverman explains the wide range of effects of loss upon children and the challenges they face as they grieve. Silverman presents grief as a normal part of the life cycle which results not only in pain and sadness but also in change and growth. She further explains that children can and do cope effectively with loss and the changes it brings as long as they are taught to understand that death is a part of life and that they will be included appropriately in the family drama. NeverTrade Review"It will be of great value to those who work with children ... I am very glad to add it to my bookshelf"Bereavement CareTable of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; PREFACE ; INTRODUCTION ; PART I: MAKING MEANING OF DEATH & GRIEF ; Introduction ; 1. Historical and Theoretical Perspectives ; 2. Bereavement: A Time of Changing Relationships and Transition ; 3. Grieving and Psychological Development ; 4. Children in the Family Context ; Concluding Thoughts to Part I ; PART II: STORIES PEOPLE TELL ; Introduction ; 5. The Death of a Parent: Dealing with Bad News, My World Is Turned Upside Down ; 6. The Death of a Parent: Making an Accommodation ; 7. My Child is Dying ; 8. After a Child's Death: Nothing is the Same ; 9. When a Sibling Dies ; 10. Invisible Mourners: The Death of a Friend ; PART III: ON HELPING ; Introduction ; 11. Help Over Time: Meeting Changing Needs ; 12. Finding Help: Services for the Bereaved ; 13. Teachable Moments: Promoting Competence ; AFTERWORD ; BIBLIOGRAPHY ; APPENDIX: RESOURCES FOR THE BEREAVED

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Book SynopsisThe author provides the language, not only for understanding the suicidal mind, but for understanding oneself and the psychological needs of the suicidal individual. Presenting cases that reveal the inner workings of the suicidal mind, Shneidman offers an insight to help understand and prevent suicide.Trade ReviewFascinating * New Scientist *

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Book SynopsisWhy is death bad for us, even on the assumption that it involves the absence of experience? Whom should we save from death if we cannot save everyone? Kamm considers these questions, critically examining some answers other philosophers have given.Trade ReviewThis is an intellectually challenging work which raises and discusses issues which should be widely debated, not only by specialists but by the public at large. * Journal of the Institute of Health Education *Kamm is probably the most sophisticated deontologist writing on normative issues today. * Shelley Kagan, University of Illinois *

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Book SynopsisAn international study of maternal care and maternal mortality. Since about 1800, different countries have developed quite different systems of maternal care, and this book provides an analysis, grounded in statistics, of the evolution and the effectiveness of those systems in various countries.Trade Review`Loudon's acute awareness of his subject's complexity and his sensitivity give the writing a wonderful suppleness and restraint. ... An expensive book worth every penny, it is one which lactation consultants and all those interested in maternal and child health issues today should own, read, and ponder.' J Hum Lact 9(4) 1993`Thanks to this work we can now begin to question many common assumptions about the causes of maternal mortality. Death in Childbirth surely deserves to become the standard reference work on the subject.' Ornella Moscucci, British Medical Journal`Given the complexity of the subject, it is inevitable that this carefully researched book should still raise many questions. Loudon marshals the facts with confidence and skill; his lucid and lively style is captivating, and even the numerically illiterate will have no difficulty in understanding the statistical arguments. Death in Childbirth surely deserves to become the standard reference work on the subject.' Ornella Moscucci, Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, British Medical Journal`Death in Childbirth is a major achievement, and should be read by anyone interested in the history of women's relations with the medical profession ... it is a great advantage to have so much material brought together and presented in such an elegant style.' Times Literary Supplement`Loudon's impressive volume explores the causes and trends of maternal mortality...we need hard statistics. Loudon provides these in abundance, in a feat of dexterity and clarity that continues through some 600 pages..."Death In Childbirth" without doubt magnificently achieves its goal of comparing rates and causes of maternal mortality internationally...Representing the best sort of history, his book provides us with a mountain of carefully presented evidence and leaves us with much food for thought' Times Higher'This is a complex book, which would be an essential reference for anyone attempting to under-take serious work in the field: it is also a text worth browsing through, however, since Loudon writes with a conviction that is persuasive and engaging.' Nursing Times'splendid study ... Loudon marshals the facts with confidence and skill; his lucid and lively style is captivating, and even the numerically illiterate will have no difficulty in understanding the statistical arguments. Death in Childbirth surely deserves to become the standard reference work on the subject.' Onella Moscucci, British Medical Journal, Volume 306, May 1993'This is a complex book, which would be an essential reference for anyone attempting to undertake serious work in the field; it is also a text worth browsing through, however, since Loudon writes with a conviction that is persuasive and engaging. The book would certainly be very well worth including in all nursing, midwifery and medical libraries. Soo Downe, Nursing Times, June 1993`...splendid study of maternal mortality in various countries from 1800 to 1950.'^ `...carefully researched book...'^ `Thanks to this work we can now begin to question many common assumptions about the causes of maternal mortality. Loudon marshals the facts with confidence and skill; his lucid and lively style is captivating, and even the numerically illiterate will have no difficulty in understanding the statistical arguments. Death in Childbirth surely deserves to become the standard reference work on the subject' British Medical Journal'Irvine Loudon's study is both an informative compendium of information about maternal mortality, and a sensitive and persuasive analysis of statistical evidence, medical opinion from the past, and life histories. For a social historian, this hefty "read" of more than six hundred pages was sometimes shocking but always engrossing and enlightening. This is an impressively complete and passionately written book that presents a tragic story, well told.' Louise A. Tilly New School for Social Research BHM 1994 68'This is a monumental study of an extremely important subject. No future study of the history of childbirth anywhere in the world will be able (or will want) to ignore the wealth of material presented within these pages... this study will form the benchmark for the next generation of scholars. Judith Walzer Leavitt, Social History of Medicine, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1994Louden's focus is much wider than materanl mortality: he uses mortality as a lens through which to explore the history of childbirth. Loden opens with a dramatic and moving individual story, thus rightly establishing personal maternal experience as the context in which to situate materanl mortality and its medical interpretation...no summary can do this book justice. * Gender and History *This is a wholly satisfying book, judicious, comprehensive and passionate ... This book should be required reading for all medical students. * Isis *Table of ContentsPART I. THE MEASUREMENT OF MATERNAL MORTALITY ; PART II. THE CAUSES OF MATERNAL MORTALITY ; PART III: MATERNAL CARE AND MATERNAL MORTALITY IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES

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Book SynopsisStudies of these religions serve as background for comprehending concepts relating to death and afterlife in the major world religions, which are dealt with in Part II, on Western religions, and Part III, on Eastern religions.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction by Hiroshi Obayashi Death and Afterlife in Nonliterate and Ancient Religions Living with Spirits: Death and Afterlife in African Religions by George C. Bond The Fate of Mankind: The Problem of Death and Afterlife in Ancient Mesopotamia by Jerrold S. Cooper Taking It With You: Death and Afterlife in Ancient Egypt by William J. Murnane Death and Afterlife in Greek Tragedy and Plato by Helen F. North Death and Afterlife in Western Religions From Witchcraft to Justice: Death and Afterlife in the Old Testament by George E. Mendenhall Death and Afterlife in the New Testament by Leander E. Keck Bound Up in the Bond of Life: Death and Afterlife in Jewish Tradition by Robert Goldenberg Death and Eternal Life in Christianity by Hiroshi Obayashi "Your Sight Today Is Piercing": The Muslim Understanding of Death and Afterlife by William C. Chittick Death and Afterlife in Eastern Religions Hindu Views of Death and Afterlife by Thomas J. Hopkins Death as Threat, Death as Achievement: Buddhist Perspectives with Particular Reference to the Theravada Tradition by Frank E. Reynolds The Tibetan Tantric View of Death and Afterlife by Elisabeth Benard Death and Afterlife in Chinese Religions by Judith A. Berling Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis

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Book SynopsisA necrobibliac classic: it may keep you up all nightnot from fear but from fascination.Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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