Christine Valentine – författare

Individuals bereaved by the drug- or alcohol-related death of a family member represent a sizeable group worldwide. Families Bereaved by Alcohol or Drugs is the long-awaited result of an important and ambitious research project into the experiences commonly encountered by members of this stigmatized and vulnerable group. Based on focus groups with the practitioners and service personnel who support grieving relatives following the loss of a loved one to alcohol or drugs, as well as interviews with the largest qualitative sample of adults bereaved by substance use that has been reported to date, this much-needed contribution to research on addiction and bereavement identifies four major reasons why grief following this tragic kind of death is particularly difficult. By examining the experiences of a wide range of stakeholders, including practitioners and policymakers in health, social care and the criminal justice system, the research contained within this book underscores the large number of organizations that play a role in the implementation of official procedure following a drug- or alcohol-related death and identifies significant gaps in the system that bereaved individuals must negotiate. Grounded in extensive and rigorous academic research, Families Bereaved by Alcohol or Drugs is essential reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of mental health and addiction, social work and social studies, psychology, family studies and bereavement. The book should also be of interest to anyone with a professional interest in bereavement or substance use.

Bereavement is often treated as a psychological condition of the individual with both healthy and pathological forms. However, this empirically-grounded study argues that this is not always the best or only way to help the bereaved. In a radical departure, it emphasises normality and social and cultural diversity in grieving. Exploring the significance of the dying person’s final moments for those who are left behind, this book sheds new light on the variety of ways in which bereaved people maintain their relationship with dead loved ones and how the dead retain a significant social presence in the lives of the living. It draws practical conclusions for professionals in relation to the complex and social nature of grief and the value placed on the right to grieve in one’s own way – supporting and encouraging the bereaved person to articulate their own experience and find their own methods of coping. Based on new empirical research, Bereavement Narratives is an innovative and invaluable read for all students and researchers of death, dying and bereavement.

Bereavement is often treated as a psychological condition of the individual with both healthy and pathological forms. However, this empirically-grounded study argues that this is not always the best or only way to help the bereaved. In a radical departure, it emphasises normality and social and cultural diversity in grieving. Exploring the significance of the dying person’s final moments for those who are left behind, this book sheds new light on the variety of ways in which bereaved people maintain their relationship with dead loved ones and how the dead retain a significant social presence in the lives of the living. It draws practical conclusions for professionals in relation to the complex and social nature of grief and the value placed on the right to grieve in one’s own way – supporting and encouraging the bereaved person to articulate their own experience and find their own methods of coping. Based on new empirical research, Bereavement Narratives is an innovative and invaluable read for all students and researchers of death, dying and bereavement.