Abstract
In this article, the author reflects on the changes during the last 25 years in our understanding of grief and on the emerging new issues in the field of loss and grief studies. He identifies several significant issues, including the implications of violent death for public and private grief, the increased attention upon the family as a mourner, and new ritual patterns emerging out of changes in funeral practices in recent years. The essay concludes by briefly considering a number of issues shaping grief and our care for those who mourn.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, H. (1993). What consoles? Sewanee Theological Review, 36(3), 374–384.
Anderson, H. (1997). Men and grief: The hidden sea of tears without outlet. In C. Cozad Neuger & J. N. Poling (Eds.), The care of men (pp. 203–226). Nashville: Abingdon.
Anderson, H. (2005). Violent death, public tragedy, and rituals of lament: An interfaith agenda. In D. Lange & D. Vogel (Eds.), Ordo: Bath, word, prayer, table (pp. 188–200). Akron: OSL.
Anderson, H., & Foley, E. (1998). Mighty stories, dangerous rituals: Weaving together the human and the divine. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Billman, K. D., & Migliore, D. L. (1999). Rachel’s cry: Prayer of lament and the rebirth of hope. Cleveland: United Church Press.
Boss, P. (1999). Ambiguous loss: Learning to live with unresolved grief. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Bowlby, J. (1979). The making and breaking of affectional bonds. London: Tavistock.
Bowman, T. (1994). Using poetry, fiction, and essays to help people face shattered dreams. Journal of Poetry Therapy, 8(2), 81–89.
Brown, S. A., & Miller, P. D. (eds). (2005). Lament: Reclaiming practices in pulpit, pew, and public square. Louisville: Westminster John/Knox.
Churchill, L. (1979). The human experience of dying. Soundings, 62, 24–37.
Conroy, P. (1995). Beach music. New York: Doubleday.
Elison, J., & McGonigle, C. (2003). Liberating losses: When death brings relief. Cambridge: Perseus.
Green, J. W. (2008). Beyond the good death: The anthropology of modern dying. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Jinkins, M. (1998). In the house of the Lord: Inhabiting the psalms of lament. Collegeville: Liturgical.
Kubler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. A. (2005). On grief and grieving, finding the meaning of grief through the five stages of loss. New York: Scribner.
Lindemann, E. (1979). Beyond grief: Studies in crisis intervention. New York: Jason Aronson.
Mitchell, K. R., & Anderson, H. (1983). All our losses, all our griefs. Louisville: Westminster John/Knox.
Nouwen, H. (1982). A letter of consolation. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Parkes, C. M., Laungani, P., & Young, B. (eds). (2003). Death and bereavement across cultures. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Paul, N., & Grosser, G. (1965). Operational mourning and its role in conjoint family therapy. Community Mental Health Journal, 1(4), 339–345.
Rynearson, E. K. (2001). Retelling violent death. Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.
Shapiro, E. R. (1994). Grief as a family process. New York: Guilford.
Sullivan, L. E. (1991). Histories and rituals: The case of a national rite of mourning. Arizona State University: The University Lecture in Religion.
Viorst, J. (1986). Necessary losses. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Walsh, F., & McGoldrick, M. (eds). (1991). Living beyond loss: Death in the family. New York: Norton.