Death and Dying, Life and Living

by Charles a Corr, Donna M. Corr, Kenneth J. Doka

Practical and inspiring, this book helps you learn how to navigate encounters with death, dying, and bereavement. The authors emphasize ways that individuals and families can cope with life-threatening illness, grief, funerals, and other death-related topics -- including how to communicate constructively in the face of death. You'll learn about aided death -- a topic on many people's minds these days -- as well as about Alzheimer's disease and other life-altering conditions and prominent causes of death. You'll read personal stories and get insight into cultural and religious perspectives that affect people's encounters, attitudes, and practices in death-related matters. And you'll discover that you can gain important lessons about life and living from the study of death, dying, and bereavement.

Genres: Nonfiction, Psychology, Counselling, Textbooks

768 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Joel Hacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for a graduate course in gerontology and counseling. This was a pretty comprehensive overview of all phases of the impacts of and planning for death and dying, either personally or secondhand, across most demographic categories. Legal/moral issues, developmental impacts, death practices, dying, and bereavement are all covered in extensive detail. Very readable for the graduate student despite its size and density. Probably best supplemented by specific country/state/municipal regulations regarding these issues as this is taking a broad look rather than a specific regional look.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

read this for a class called death and dying. this one was kind of life changing, ngl. i felt so seen and understood in my own grief. and it changed my perspective on coping with death and dying. would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be able to support someone who is going through a grief experience.

[Emma McCarthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

overall a great primer on thanatology and deathwork, however i didn't wholly agree with the authors thoughts on some subjects such as suicidology and MAiD

read for thn600

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've taught out of this edition once and the earlier, 9th edition, twice. It's a solid book about the topics of death, dying, and bereavement. The book title emphasizes the fact that death affects all people and has an impact throughout the whole life span.

Authors Corr, Corr & Doka primarily take a social science approach, drawing on the academic fields of sociology, psychology, and gerontology primarily. The book breaks down a lot of the data by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and generational convoy (aka "Greatest Generation," "Boomers," "Millennials " etc. The specialized academic field is thanatology, but not all universities offer programs or even classes to that niche.

The authors also draw on resources and data collected by government offices, social services, and volunteer organizations whose work intersects with death, dying, and/or bereavement. The resources are not just limited to print sources; the textbook includes a lot of URLs to robust online sources.

Table of Contents

Preface
Prologue

Ch. 1 Education about Death
Ch. 2 Changing Encounters with Death
Ch. 3 Changing Attitudes toward Death
Ch. 4 Death-Related Practices and the American Death System
Ch. 5 Cultural Patterns and Death
Ch. 6 Coping with Dying
Ch. 7 Coping with Dying: How Individuals Can Help
Ch. 8 Coping with Dying: How Communities Can Help
Ch. 9 Coping with Loss and Grief
Ch. 10 Coping with Loss and Grief: How Individuals Can Help
Ch. 11 Coping with Loss and Grief: How Communities Can Help
Ch. 12 Children
Ch. 13 Adolescents
Ch. 14 Young and Middle-Aged Adults
Ch. 15 Older Adults
Ch. 16 Legal Issues
Ch. 17 Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
Ch. 18 Aided Death: Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia, and Aid in Dying
Ch. 19 The Meaning and Place of Death in Life
Ch. 20 Illustrating the Themes of this Book: Alzhiemer's Disease and Related Disorders

Appendix A: Selected Literature for Children
Appendix B: Selected Literature for Adolescents
Appendix C: Activity Books and Memory Books for Young Readers
References
Name Index
Subject Index