Coping with Loss

Coping with Loss

Synopsis

This book integrates groundbreaking new research, theory, and clinical insights to present a comprehensive picture of how different goups of bereaved people cope with their losses.

Excerpt

This book is based on the Bereavement Coping Project, a long-term study of several hundred people who lost a loved one. The Bereavement Coping Project began as just another research study. It soon became an avenue for spending time with some of the most inspiring and interesting people we have ever met. Chief among these were the hospice people--the nurses, social workers, counselors, and volunteers--who have dedicated their lives to improving the last days of severely ill people and assisting families through grief. We consulted with these dedicated professionals and volunteers extensively in designing this study. The hospice staff then recruited family members into the study for us and gave us continual feedback through its end. We simply could not have done this study without them, and the information we gained would have been much less rich if not for the many questions and concerns hospice people suggested we address. We are deeply grateful to Maureen Medders, Carol Gray, Kitsy Schoen, Gayle Bigelow, Maxine Montgomery, Linda Appleton, Nancy Sabonya, Ruth Schlecta, Donna Bell, Barbara Noggle, Bonnie Kick, tBarbara Weissman, Susan Poor, and all the other hospice people who allowed us to spend some time with them and the people they serve. Special thanks to Margaret Gainer for the many, many hours and great love she put into this project.

We are also deeply grateful to the family members who participated in this study. Many people were reluctant to participate, but did so in hope that the information they provided could be helpful to future bereaved people. Our goal in writing this book was to fulfill that hope--to serve as a conduit for their experiences and insights--so that bereaved people and those who serve bereaved people could be informed by these experiences and insights. We have . . .