Death, Dying, and Bereavement in a Changing World

In this introductory text on thanatology, Alan R. Kemp takes on the central question of mortality: the ubiquitous presence of death despite the very human propensity to deny its relevance to oneself, personally. Drawing on the work of pioneering anthropologist Ernest Becker, Death, Dying, and Bereavement in a Changing World provides a multidisciplinary and multidimensional introduction to the study of death, dying, and bereavement, putting extra emphasis on how we understand and experience it in a rapidly changing world. This new, third edition includes the most up-to-date coverage of the research, data, and figures related to death, dying, and bereavement. It includes coverage of new research on the alternative death care movement, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, suicide, homicide, mass shootings, as well as terrorism and domestic extremism. Also covered is discussion about the use of cannabis to help address the effects of treatments for life-threatening illnesses, like cancer, clinical studies on the use of psychedelics to help with end-of-life-distress, updated information on medical assistance in dying, as well as the latest research on the experience of bereavement, grief, and mourning. But, perhaps most importantly, it includes an entirely new final chapter on learning how to live until we die. Written to be an accessible and expansive overview of our changing encounters with death, dying, and bereavement, the third edition remains a reflective and deeply insightful book for students across specialized fields in psychology, sociology, human services, social work, counseling, and theology.

Alan R. Kemp is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Pierce College, where he enjoyed a 30-year career teaching human service and sociology courses, including his popular death, dying, and bereavement course. He was the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award at Pierce in 2016 and a recipient of the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He currently serves as Rector and Professor of Applied Theology at Ascension Theological College.

I. Introduction and Contexts 1. Introduction to Thanatology 2. Death, Dying, and Bereavement in a Changing World 3. Death and Human Development 4. Cross-Cultural and Interfaith Dimensions II. Death 5. Traditional Death Care 6. Alternative Death Care 7. Traumatic Death-Part 1: Trauma, Pandemics, Natural Disasters, Suicide and Homicide 8. Traumatic Death-Part 2: Terrorism and Domestic Extremism III. Dying 9. Facing Death 10. Hospice and Palliative Care 11. Medical Assistance in Dying 12. Withdrawing Life Support and Organ Transplantation IV. Bereavement 13. Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning 14. Complicated Grief V. The Path Ahead 15. Life After Life? 16. Learning How to Live Until We Die