Description
This frank, sensible and compassionate book examines in detail the particular needs and experiences of young adults, many of whom will be taking on fresh responsibilities, buying their own homes and starting families. At a time when life promises so much, a major bereavement can be devastating. The author examines the physical and emotional effects of grief, the changes it can bring about in an individual or family, and provides useful addresses of organisations and societies who can give support and advice at this crucial time.
Bereavement brings with it a multitude of different physical and emotional demands. From the practical business of arranging the funeral and sorting out the legal complexities of the will to the distressing and confusing feelings connected with losing a loved one, this will prove a useful guide for both the bereaved and those who work with them. The author’s approach is realistic, yet positive throughout, as is evident in the words, “Death teaches us a great deal. Perhaps its greatest lesson is the fact that nothing lasts forever. Not even sadness and grief.”
About the Author
Susan Wallbank has been a counsellor for over 15 years, joining Cruse, the bereavement counselling organisation, in 1978. She has written a number of pamphlets for Cruse, and contributed regularly to its journals. She is a member of the British Association for Counselling, and is often consulted upon bereavement by the media. She is author of The Empty Bed, and her poems have appeared in a number of anthologies.
Contents
Introduction
1. The Business of Death
Practical and Personal
2. Grief
Denial/Shock/Searching/Ghosts and Dreams
Anger/Guilt/Regret/Control
Fears and Phobias/Patterns of Grief
3. History
Learning About Loss
Our Own Story
4. Who Died?
5. A Death in the Family
The Death of a Grandparent
The Death of Uncles and Aunts
The Death of a Parent
6. The Death of a Father
A Daughter Loses a Father
A Son Loses a Father
7. The Death of a Mother
A Daughter Loses a Mother
A Son Loses a Mother
8. Becoming an Orphan
9. The Death of a Brother or Sister
10. A Death in One’s New Family
The Death of a Partner
The Death of a Child
Death Before Birth: Miscarriage and Abortion
The Death of a Baby
11. A Death Outside the Family
The Death of a Friend
12. How Did They Die?
Unnatural Death: Murder/Suicide/Disaster/War/Accidental Death
Death Through Natural Causes: Sudden Death/Terminal Illness
13. Help
With a Little Help from my Friends
Help from Others in a Similar Situation
Help from a Doctor/Counselling Help/Help from a Minister of Religion
Helping Ourselves
Endorsements and Reviews
[Susan Wallbank] writes with great insight and compassion, yet deals with the sensitive and often complex aspects of grief in a direct style which makes this book very readable.
Cruse Chronicle
A very clearly set-out compendium of wisdom on all aspects of dealing with a death of someone close … Altogether a very useful tool …
European Christian Bookstore Journal
All counsellors would greatly benefit from reading this handbook and having it available for reference … Its practical advice goes far beyond the good publications which are available on ‘what to do when someone dies’.
Christian Herald
