How do bereaved people come to terms with their loss? What factors are important in successful coping?

The death of a loved one is one of the most painful experiences that we have to encounter. If the loved one is a child or partner the experience can be especially devastating. How do we cope? Do our families provide sufficient support? Would professional help be better?

In this book, originally published in 1992, the author provides an in-depth study of the many aspects of bereavement and the grieving process. With ample support from personal accounts of bereaved people, she examines the experience of bereavement: what can go wrong, the importance of social networks, both family and professional, and looks at how society’s attitudes to death and dying can affect our ability to cope. There are specific chapters on the death of children in childhood, adolescence and adult life, and on the death of a partner.

The result is a book that will be of importance to all those who have regular contact with the dying and bereaved.