This is a comprehensive account of the psychology of death and bereavement, which places the subject within the contexts of the major world religions and their associated mourning and funeral customs. Clearly written, well referenced and carefully organized, the book examines the thinking of Freud and Jung and of modern psychiatrists, and also discusses those aspects of death - bereavement visions, euthanasia, grief for a pet and suicide - which are not covered elsewhere.The second edition has enabled the contents to be updated and enlarged. There are five new chapters, including one dealing with the scientific assessment of death: another looks at the psychological insights provided by Shakespeare, whilst a third deals with the beliefs and customs of minority groups - the Bahais, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Quakers, Spiritualists and Seventh-day Adventists. The text is highly accessible and uses case histories to bridge the gap between theory and experience in an novel and creative way.
Table of Contents:
1 - What is Death? 2 - Western Attitudes to Death.
3 - Reincarnation and Rebirth.
4 - The Cult of The Ancestors.
5 - African and Afro-caribbean beliefs and Customs.
6 - Jewish and Muslim Funeral and Mourning Customs.
7 - The funeral Rites of Christians.
8 - New Religions and new Sects.
9 - The Reburial issue.
10 - Freud, Mourning and Death.
11 - Jung and Self-realization.
12 - Shakespeare, Death and Grief .
13 - Dying, The Last Months .
14 - Caring for The dying.
15 - Bereavement, The Basics.
16 - Bereavement, Medical and Social Issues.
17 - The Death of a Child.
18 - A Child's Response to Death.
19 - Suicide.
20 - Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.
21 - The Death of a pet.
22 - The Bereaved and the Living Dead.
23 - Near Death Experiences.
24 - The Significance of death.
About the Author :
Dewi Rees is the author of Death and Bereavement: Psychological, Religious and Cultural Interfaces, 2nd Edition, published by Wiley.
