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DIMENSIONS OF GRIEF: Adjusting to cite Death of a Spouse by

DIMENSIONS OF GRIEF: Adjusting to cite Death of a Spouse

By

Pub Date: Dec. 15th, 1986
Publisher: Jossey-Bass--dist. by Kampmann (9 East 40th St., New York, NY 10016)

A reference book supported by moving vignettes of the variability of human grief with a thorough assessment of the field and therapeutic strategies. The pain of the survivors is palpable in the poignant stories that give this book its breath of life, and adds to what is a careful, complete and sober analysis. Understanding the experience of losing a spouse, the coping mechanism and all the varieties of possible responses are some key topics which Schuchter covers with rigor and sensitivity. The protean face of grief is revealed as people discuss guilt, resentment, apathy, despair, family, friends and how they survived. Grief has its normal course with variations, and it is dependent on the character and experience of the griever. The signs which indicate that some kind of intervention is needed are carefully described; no area or complication is left unexamined, from sex to eating habits. Reasonable, wise and almost jargon-free, this doesn't pander to a pop-psych audience and the author is admirably modest.