Families Making Sense of Death

Grief can be an isolating experience. When a family member dies the loss goes beyond individual grief. Its concentric circles encompass all the living members of a family, and even alter interactions within that family. In Families Making Sense of Death, Janice Winchester Nadeau explores the healing process within the family context. Through interviews and analysis, she takes a look at the dynamics at work in families in which a member has died. With a keen sense of empathy, the author shares stories that show how, gradually, families come to terms with their grief and make sense of death, as time goes by. This "family meaning-making" is not a linear process. It is alternately stimulated and inhibited within a family. Nadeau draws conclusions from her research about which particular social factors and conditions play a role in the overall outcome. She succeeds in showing not only how different families cope with death within the family, but also how skillful and sensitive field research is done.