1st Edition
Non-Death Loss and Grief Context and Clinical Implications
Non-Death Loss and Grief offers an inclusive perspective on loss and grief, exploring recent research, clinical applications, and current thinking on non-death losses and the unique features of the grieving process that accompany them.
The book places an overarching focus on the losses that we encounter in everyday life, and the role of these loss experiences in shaping us as we continue living. A main emphasis is the importance of having words to accurately express these ‘living losses’, such as loss of communication with a loved one due to disease or trauma, which are often not acknowledged for the depth of their impact. Chapters showcase a wide range of contributions from international leaders in the field and explore individual perspectives on loss as well as experiences that are more interpersonal and sociopolitical in nature.
Illustrated by case studies and clinical examples throughout, this is a highly relevant text for clinicians looking to enhance their support of those living with ongoing loss and grief.
1. Non-Death Loss and Grief: Laying the Foundation
Darcy Harris
Part One: The Social Context of Loss and Grief
Neil Thompson
2. Disenfranchised Grief and Non-Death Losses
Kenneth Doka
3. Social Death
Michael Brennan
4. Discrimination, Oppression, and Loss
Neil Thompson
5. Mourning in Trump’s America: An Existential Account of Political Grief
Sheldon Solomon
Part Two: Understanding and Treating the Unresolved Grief of Ambiguous Loss
Pauline Boss
6. Losses of Birth Mothers in the Adoption Triad
Darcy Harris
7. Living in a Liminal Space: The Experience of Caring for a Spouse with Alzheimer’s Disease
Dan Festa and Darcy Harris
8. Grief and Loss in Addictions
Thomas Dwyer
9. Ambiguous Loss in Coming Out and Trans*itioning
Mae-Lynn Germany, Anna Pederson, Sara Bridges
10. Supporting the Families of Missing People: More Than an Investigation
Emmanuel Kassiotis, Liz Davies, Keesha Quinn
Part Three: Nonfinite Loss: Living with Ongoing Loss and Grief
Darcy Harris
11. Nonfinite and Cumulative Loss in Foster Care
Monique Mitchell
12. The Loss of Loneliness in Emerging Adults
Lara Schultz and Ann Laverty
13. Families and Children’s Experiences of Loss in the Family Justice System
Rachel Birnbaum
14. Midlife Children Caring for Their Aging Parents
Darcy Harris
Part Four: Chronic Sorrow
Susan Roos
15. Parenting a Child with a Serious Disability
Annie Cantwell-Bartl
16. Environmental Grief
Kriss Kevorkian
17. Grief and Mental Illness
Lauren Breen and Mary Fernandez
Part Five: Tangible and Intangible Losses
Darcy Harris
18. The Threshold of Shattered Dreams
Ted Bowman
19. Sexual Assault, Loss, and the Journey to Justice
Tashel Bordere and Laura Danforth
20. Loss and Forced Displacement
Athir Jisrawi and Carrie Arnold
21. Loss of Love: When the Relationship is What Dies
Darcy Harris
Part Six: Pulling It All Together: Change, Loss, and Transition
Darcy Harris
22. Where’s the Grief in Non-death Loss Research?
Mae-Lynn Germany
23. Supporting People Through Living Losses
Darcy Harris
24. Meaning-Making After Non-Death Losses
Robert Neimeyer and Lara Krawchuck
Biography
Darcy L. Harris, PhD, RN, RSW, FT, is an associate professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Programs and the coordinator of the Thanatology Program at King’s University College at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. She also maintains a private clinical practice and does consulting and presentation work specializing in issues related to change, loss, transition, and grief.
"The field has been waiting far too long for a book like this! Harris, an international authority on grief in the context of non-death losses, has distilled her vast clinical experience and theoretical knowledge into a highly readable and practical text. Bringing together leading international scholars and clinicians, the volume eloquently explores this vital subject in a deeply considered and ultimately practical way. Its exploration of individual, social, cultural, and political perspectives leaves the reader with a deep understanding of the impact of a wide range of non-death losses. I cannot recommend this ground-breaking book highly enough." — Christopher Hall, MA, BEd, GradDipAdol&ChildPsych, director, Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement; past chair, International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement; past president, Association for Death Education and Counseling
"Too often the array of non-death losses which arise in many of life’s settings are not credited as requiring support as well as therapeutic interventions. This collection of the impressive writings of specialists in this field provides understanding as well as useful methods for providing direct care." — J. Shep Jeffreys, EdD, FT, assistant professor, Psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
"Harris offers an unprecedented and very welcome collection representing a rich diversity of non-death-related losses. Along with the sorrows and brokenness these losses bring into grievers’ lives are the challenges in relearning how to live with hope and meaning, and this volume provides guidance for those who offer them compassionate support." — Thomas Attig, PhD, author of How We Grieve: Relearning the World