Jane Ribbens McCarthy – författare

"What it does extremely well, and, indeed, uniquely is provide a wide and deep exploration of the extensive, often bewildering and conflicting, literature about the experiences of young people, loss and bereavement, drawing from it useful conclusions as well as identifying gaps in the research, and pointing to possible ways forward."BereavementCare

Taking a broad sweep across a great range of relevant literatures, this book breaks new ground in spanning theoretical issues and empirical research to examine critically what we know about this important – but often neglected – issue. It also features in-depth original case studies of young people who have experienced bereavement and uses these as a basis for exploring how loss and bereavement impact upon young people’s lives.

Young People’s Experiences of Loss and Bereavement provides essential reading on issues of loss, change and bereavement for students, researchers and professionals across a wide range of health and social care disciplines, especially those involving family and youth work.

This book goes to the heart of academic, political and popular debates, as well as professional concerns, about the nature of contemporary family life and parenting. Families are widely discussed in western societies as breaking down or as radically changing, with step-families in particular seen as evidence of such trends. In one of the first British in-depth sociological research studies for over two decades, this book provide evidence of parents'' and step-parents'' own understandings and experiences of their parenting in step-families.

It addresses questions such as: What does it mean to be a family? Do people in step-families see themselves as making a different kind of family? Is individual happiness in a couple relationship prioritised at the expense of responsibilities towards children? Can a step-parent ever be regarded as the same as a biological mother or father? What do people in step-families do to try to make step-family life work?

The book looks at how people create, understand and experience their parenting and family lives. It reveals how these understandings are rooted in a strong sense of moral responsibility, but that what such responsibility constitutes varies according to gender and social class. In particular, it draws out key theoretical implications for understanding the nature of morality, fairness and justice, and questions ideas about individualisation and the democratisation of family life.

This book will be essential reading for those concerned with the study of contemporary family lives, including sociologists, social policy analysts, family therapists, professionals and practitioners. It is also relevant to those interested in contemporary morality and everyday experiences.

This book goes to the heart of academic, political and popular debates, as well as professional concerns, about the nature of contemporary family life and parenting. Families are widely discussed in western societies as breaking down or as radically changing, with step-families in particular seen as evidence of such trends. In one of the first British in-depth sociological research studies for over two decades, this book provide evidence of parents'' and step-parents'' own understandings and experiences of their parenting in step-families.

It addresses questions such as: What does it mean to be a family? Do people in step-families see themselves as making a different kind of family? Is individual happiness in a couple relationship prioritised at the expense of responsibilities towards children? Can a step-parent ever be regarded as the same as a biological mother or father? What do people in step-families do to try to make step-family life work?

The book looks at how people create, understand and experience their parenting and family lives. It reveals how these understandings are rooted in a strong sense of moral responsibility, but that what such responsibility constitutes varies according to gender and social class. In particular, it draws out key theoretical implications for understanding the nature of morality, fairness and justice, and questions ideas about individualisation and the democratisation of family life.

This book will be essential reading for those concerned with the study of contemporary family lives, including sociologists, social policy analysts, family therapists, professionals and practitioners. It is also relevant to those interested in contemporary morality and everyday experiences.

"This is a thoughtful and sometimes challenging elaboration of some of the key concepts in contemporary family studies... Students and researchers will want to have this book close to hand, not simply as a reference work but as a stimulus to critical social analysis." - David H J Morgan, University of Manchester "Written in an intelligent, engaging, and accessible manner by two leading and highly respected family scholars whose contributions to the field over the past two decades have been path-breaking. This is an important resource for students and professionals studying, and working in, the field of family studies within and across the disciplines of sociology, social policy, social work, health studies, education, and gender studies." - Andrea Doucet, Carleton University This book's individual entries introduce, explain and contextualise key topics within the study of family lives. Definitions, summaries and key words are developed throughout with careful cross-referencing allowing students to move effortlessly between core ideas and themes. Each entry provides:

Relevant, focused and accessible, this book will provide students with an indispensible guide to the central concepts of family studies.

"This is a thoughtful and sometimes challenging elaboration of some of the key concepts in contemporary family studies... Students and researchers will want to have this book close to hand, not simply as a reference work but as a stimulus to critical social analysis." - David H J Morgan, University of Manchester "Written in an intelligent, engaging, and accessible manner by two leading and highly respected family scholars whose contributions to the field over the past two decades have been path-breaking. This is an important resource for students and professionals studying, and working in, the field of family studies within and across the disciplines of sociology, social policy, social work, health studies, education, and gender studies." - Andrea Doucet, Carleton University This book′s individual entries introduce, explain and contextualise key topics within the study of family lives. Definitions, summaries and key words are developed throughout with careful cross-referencing allowing students to move effortlessly between core ideas and themes. Each entry provides:

Relevant, focused and accessible, this book will provide students with an indispensible guide to the central concepts of family studies.