Culture, Consolation, and Continuing Bonds in Bereavement

Dennis Klass, PhD, is the author or editor of six books and over 70 articles or book chapters. He is a professor emeritus at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.

"Dennis Klass is generous, and he possesses a large soul. He is also very smart. He has made lasting contributions to how thanatologists think about and understand bereavement, grief, and mourning. He brought to our attention the singular importance of solace and consolation as persons respond to their losses. He challenged thanatologists weaned in the individualistic tradition of psychology to realize the intersubjective realities of grief. He made formidable forays regarding the ways bereavement, grief, and mourning are experienced and understood in non-Western cultures. This special volume of his important writings showcases these contributions." David Balk in OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, 2022 "This landmark volume provides a unique collection of highlights from and developments in Dennis Klass’s momentous scholarship through almost fifty years in bereavement research. With his solid ethnographic, historical, and cross-cultural grounding, Klass has defined the paradigm shift that has taken place in the field. His work has provided conceptual tools that are useful for research and clinical work and also resonates profoundly within the complexity of individual and collective experiences of living with the dead." Ester Holte Kofod, assistant professor of health psychology, The Culture of Grief Research Center, Aalborg University, Denmark

• Introduction. 1. An Intellectual Life Review Section 1: Bereaved Parents and The Self-Help Process 2. Professional Roles in a Self-Help Group for the Bereaved 3. The Aftermath of Spiritual Storms 4. Continuing Bonds in the Psychic and Social Worlds of Bereaved Parents During the Resolution of Grief in a Self-Help Group 5. How Can an Outsider Understand? 6. Acceptance Speech - Compassionate Friends Appreciation Award Section 2: Expanding the Western Theory of Grief 7. What's the Problem with the Dominant Model of Grief? 8. The Sociology of Continuing Bonds 9. Neglected Areas in Bereavement Research: Sorrow and Solace 10. Grief, Consolation, and Religions: A Conceptual Framework Section 3: Cross-Cultural Study of Grief 11. Ancestor Worship in Japan: Dependence and the Resolution of Grief 12. The Buddha and the Christ: How Religious Relics, Doctrines, and Rituals Continue the Bonds Between Founders and Their Disciples Section 4: Theory and Meaning 13. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and the Tradition of the Private Sphere: An Analysis of Symbols 14. John Bowlby's Model of Grief and the Problem of Identification Section 5: Case Study of a Bereaved Parent 15. Charles Darwin’s Sorrow: Parental Bereavement in His Worldview and His Theory of Natural Selection