Lehman College Death Penalty Abolition Discussion

The Last Dance
This page intentionally left blank
The Last Dance
tenth edition
Encountering Death and Dying
LYNNE ANN DeSPELDER
Cabrillo College
ALBERT LEE STRICKLAND
THE LAST DANCE: ENCOUNTERING DEATH AND DYING, TENTH EDITION
Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright ? 2015, 2011,
and 2009 by Lynne Ann DeSpelder and Albert Lee Strickland. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database
or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not
limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance
learning.
Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers
outside the United States.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 1 0 9 8 7 6 5 4
ISBN: 978-0-07-803546-3
MHID: 0-07-803546-5
Senior Vice President, Products & Markets: Kurt L. Strand
Vice President, General Manager, Products & Markets: Michael Ryan
Vice President, Content Production & Technology Services: Kimberly Meriwether David
Senior Brand Manager: Maureen E. Prado Roberts
Managing Development Editor: Penina Braffman
Marketing Specialist: Alexandra Schultz
Director, Content Production: Terri Schiesl
Lead Content Project Manager: Jane Mohr
Buyer: Nichole Birkenholz
Cover Designer: Studio Montage, St. Louis, MO.
Cover Images: Edvard Munch, The Dance of Life, 1889?1900. Oil on canvas. 49?? 3 74??. National
Gallery, Oslo.
Media Project Manager: Jennifer Bartell
Compositor: Laserwords Private Limited
Typeface: 10/12 New Baskerville
Printer: R. R. Donnelley
All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the
copyright page.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DeSpelder, Lynne Ann, 1944The last dance : encountering death and dying / Lynne Ann DeSpelder, Cabrillo College, Albert
Lee Strickland.?Tenth edition.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-07-803546-3 (alk. paper)
1. Death?Psychological aspects?Textbooks. 2. Death–Social aspects?Textbooks. I. Strickland,
Albert Lee. II. Title.
BF789.D4D53 2014
155.9?37?dc23
2013041273
The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a
website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGrawHill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.
www.mhhe.com
In memory of
Coleen DeSpelder
who lived with lightness
through the shadows of terminal illness
April 2, 1954?May 17, 2001
and to our parents
Bruce Erwin DeSpelder
and
Dorothy Roediger DeSpelder
Luther Leander Strickland
and
Bertha Wittenburg Strickland
This page intentionally left blank
Brief Contents
Preface xxi
Prologue, by David Gordon 1
CHAPTER 1: Attitudes Toward Death: A Climate of Change 5
CHAPTER 2: Learning About Death: Socialization 49
CHAPTER 3: Perspectives on Death: Historical and Cultural 89
CHAPTER 4: Death Systems: Mortality and Society 139
CHAPTER 5: Health Care: Patients, Staff, and Institutions 175
CHAPTER 6: End-of-Life Issues and Decisions 213
CHAPTER 7: Facing Death: Living with Life-Threatening Illness 259
CHAPTER 8: Last Rites: Funerals and Body Disposition 295
CHAPTER 9: Survivors: Understanding the Experience of Loss 341
CHAPTER 10: Death in the Lives of Children and Adolescents 385
CHAPTER 11: Death in the Lives of Adults 417
CHAPTER 12: Suicide 447
CHAPTER 13: Risks, Perils, and Traumatic Death 489
CHAPTER 14: Beyond Death / After Life 531
CHAPTER 15: The Path Ahead: Personal and Social Choices 569
Epilogue, by David Gordon 599
Notes 601
Credits and Sources 671
Name Index 677
Subject Index 693
vii
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface
xxi
Prologue, by David Gordon
CH A P T ER
1
1
Attitudes Toward Death: A Climate of Change
Expressions of Attitudes Toward Death
Mass Media
6
In the News
6
Entertaining Death
Language
10
Music
12
Literature
15
Visual Arts
18
Humor
23
6
8
Living with Awareness of Death
25
Contemplating Mortality
26
Dimensions of Thanatology
26
Death Anxiety and Fear of Death
Terror Management
29
Studying Death and Dying
5
27
31
The Rise of Death Education
31
Pioneers in Death Studies
32
Factors Affecting Familiarity with Death
34
Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates
35
Causes of Death
37
Geographic Mobility and Intergenerational Contact
Life-Extending Technologies
40
The Internet and the Digital Age
42
Examining Assumptions
43
Death in a Cosmopolitan Society
44
Exploring Your Own Losses and Attitudes
Further Readings
38
46
47
ix
CH A P T ER
2
Learning About Death: Socialization
49
A Child?s Reasoning
50
A Mature Concept of Death
51
Understanding Death Through the Life Course
53
Infancy and Toddlerhood
57
Early Childhood
58
Middle Childhood or School-Age Period
60
Adolescence
62
Emerging Adulthood
64
Early Adulthood
64
Middle Adulthood
65
Later Adulthood
66
The Evolution of a Mature Concept of Death
66
Agents of Socialization
67
Family
68
School and Peers
69
Mass Media and Children?s Literature
Religion
76
72
Teachable Moments
76
The Death of a Companion Animal
78
The Mature Concept of Death Revisited
81
Further Readings
87
CH A P T ER
3
Perspectives on Death: Historical and Cultural
Traditional Cultures
92
Origin of Death
92
Names of the Dead
94
Causes of Death
95
Power of the Dead
97
Western Culture
98
The Deathbed Scene
100
Burial Customs
102
Charnel Houses
102
Memorializing the Dead
The Dance of Death
104
x
104
89
Death Masks
106
Invisible Death?
107
Cultural Viewpoints
108
People of Native American Heritage
108
People of African Heritage
112
The LoDagaa of Northern Ghana
114
Traditions Among African Americans
116
People of Hispanic Heritage
117
Attitudes Toward Death in Mexico
118
D?a de los Muertos
118
People of Asian Heritage
122
Paper Offerings
127
Ch?ing ming and O-bon Festivals
128
People of Jewish Heritage
129
People of Celtic Heritage
129
People of Arab Heritage
132
People of Oceanian Heritage
132
Mixed Plate: Cultural Diversity in Hawaii
Characteristics of Hawaii?s Peoples
Death and Local Identity
134
133
133
Death in Contemporary Multicultural Societies
Further Readings
137
CH A P T ER
136
4
Death Systems: Mortality and Society
Certification of Death
140
The Coroner and the Medical Examiner
Autopsies
144
Assessing Homicide
147
Capital Punishment
150
Defining Death
151
139
141
Conventional Signs of Death and New Technology
153
Conceptual and Empirical Criteria
155
Four Approaches to the Definition and Determination of
Death
157
Irreversible Loss of Flow of Vital Fluids
157
Irreversible Loss of the Soul from the Body
157
Irreversible Loss of the Capacity for Bodily Integration
159
xi
Irreversible Loss of the Capacity for Consciousness or Social
Interaction
160
The Uniform Determination of Death Act
162
Organ Transplantation and Organ Donation
165
Medical Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Example
170
The Impact of the Death System
172
Further Readings
173
CH A P T ER
5
Health Care: Patients, Staff, and Institutions
Modern Health Care
175
176
Health Care Financing
178
Rationing Scarce Resources
180
The Caregiver-Patient Relationship
181
Disclosing a Life-Threatening Diagnosis
Achieving Clear Communication
183
Providing Total Care
185
Care of the Dying
182
185
Hospice and Palliative Care
187
The Origins of Hospice and Palliative Care
Challenges for Hospice and Palliative Care
The Future of Hospice and Palliative Care
Home Care
196
Social Support
198
Elder Care
199
Trauma and Emergency Care
201
Death Notification
204
Caregiver Stress and Compassion Fatigue
A Changing Health Care System
209
Further Readings
210
CH A P T ER
207
6
End-of-Life Issues and Decisions
Principles of Medical Ethics
214
Informed Consent to Treatment
215
xii
191
192
195
213
Principles of Informed Consent
215
Preferences Regarding Informed Consent
Choosing Death
217
221
Withholding or Withdrawing Treatment
225
Physician-Assisted Death
226
The Rule of Double Effect
229
Euthanasia
229
Palliative Care and the Right to Die
230
Nutrition and Hydration
231
Seriously Ill Newborns
232
Advance Directives
233
Using Advance Directives
238
Advance Directives and Emergency Care
240
Inheritance: Wills, Probate, and Living Trusts
Wills
242
The Formally Executed Will
245
Amending or Revoking a Will
246
Probate
248
The Duties of the Executor or Administrator
Laws of Intestate Succession
250
Living Trusts
251
Insurance and Death Benefits
253
Considering End-of-Life Issues and Decisions
Further Readings
256
CH A P T ER
241
248
255
7
Facing Death: Living with Life-Threatening Illness
Personal and Social Meanings of Life-Threatening Illness
Coping with Life-Threatening Illness
263
Awareness of Dying
263
Adapting to ?Living-Dying?
Patterns of Coping
266
Maintaining Coping Potency
Treatment Options and Issues
259
261
264
269
272
Surgery
275
Radiation Therapy
276
Chemotherapy
277
Alternative Therapies
277
The Placebo Effect
280
Unorthodox Treatment
281
xiii
Pain Management
282
The Language of Pain
Treating Pain
283
283
The Dying Trajectory
286
The Social Role of the Dying Patient
Being with Someone Who is Dying
Further Readings
293
CH A P T ER
289
292
8
Last Rites: Funerals and Body Disposition
Psychosocial Aspects of Last Rites
295
298
Announcement of Death
298
Mutual Support
301
Impetus for Coping with Loss
302
Funerals in the United States
303
The Rise of Professional Funeral Services
Criticisms of Funeral Practices
306
New and Rediscovered Memorial Choices
Selecting Funeral Services
309
311
Funeral Service Charges
313
Comparing the Costs
314
Professional Services
314
Embalming
315
Caskets
317
Outer Burial Containers
318
Facilities and Vehicles
319
Miscellaneous Charges
319
Direct Cremations and Immediate Burials
Funeral and Memorial Societies
321
Body Disposition
304
319
321
Burial
324
Cremation
326
Memorialization
328
Laws Regulating Body Disposition
329
New Directions in Funerals and Body Disposition
Remembrance Rituals and Linking Objects
333
Making Meaningful Choices
334
Further Readings
339
xiv
330
CH A P T ER
9
Survivors: Understanding the Experience of Loss
Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning
Tasks of Mourning
346
Models of Grief
347
343
Working Through Grief
347
Continuing Bonds with the Deceased
348
Telling the ?Story?: Narrative Reconstruction
The Dual Process Model of Coping
351
The Two-Track Model of Bereavement
352
Toward an Integrated Model of Grief
353
The Experience of Grief
350
355
Mental Versus Emotional Responses
The Course of Grief
355
The Duration of Grief
358
Complications of Grief
359
The Mortality of Bereavement
362
Variables Influencing Grief
341
355
364
Survivor?s Model of the World
364
Personality
364
Cultural Context and Social Roles
365
Perceived Relationship with the Deceased
365
Values and Beliefs
367
Coping Patterns and Gender
367
Mode of Death
369
Anticipated Death
370
Sudden Death
371
Suicide
371
Homicide
372
Disaster
372
Multiple Losses and Bereavement Burnout
373
Social Support and Disenfranchised Grief
373
Unfinished Business
375
Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy
376
Support for the Bereaved
379
Bereavement as an Opportunity for Growth
Further Readings
382
380
xv
CH A P T ER
10
Death in the Lives of Children and Adolescents
Experiences with Death
388
Children as Survivors of a Close Death
385
391
The Bereaved Child?s Experience of Grief
The Death of a Parent
393
The Death of a Sibling
395
Children with Life-Threatening Illnesses
392
399
The Child?s Perception of Serious Illness
400
The Child?s Coping Mechanisms
401
Providing and Organizing Care
402
Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Care
403
Decisions About Medical Treatment
405
Caring for a Seriously Ill Child
406
Support Groups for Children
407
Helping Children Cope with Change and Loss
409
Discussing Death Before a Crisis Occurs
409
Discussions When a Family Member Is Seriously Ill
Discussions in the Aftermath of Loss
412
Further Readings
CH A P T ER
415
11
Death in the Lives of Adults
Death and the College Student
The Death of a Friend
420
The Death of a Parent
420
Parental Bereavement
423
417
418
Childbearing Losses
424
Miscarriage
426
Induced Abortion
426
Stillbirth
428
Neonatal Death
429
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Grief for ?Unlived? Lives
431
xvi
411
430
The Death of an Older Child
432
The Death of an Adult Child
433
Coping with Bereavement as a Couple
Social Support in Parental Bereavement
Spousal Bereavement
434
435
436
Factors Influencing Spousal Bereavement
436
Social Support for Bereaved Spouses
439
Aging and the Aged
440
Further Readings
445
CH A P T ER
12
Suicide
447
Comprehending Suicide
448
Statistical Issues
449
The Psychological Autopsy
451
Explanatory Theories of Suicide
453
The Social Context of Suicide
453
Degree of Social Integration
453
Degree of Social Regulation
455
Psychological Insights About Suicide
456
Toward an Integrated Understanding of Suicide
Some Types of Suicide
457
459
Suicide as Escape
459
Cry for Help
461
Subintentioned and Chronic Suicide
Risk Factors Influencing Suicide
Culture
466
Personality
467
The Individual Situation
464
464
468
Life-Span Perspectives on Suicide
Childhood
471
Adolescence and Early Adulthood
Middle Adulthood
475
Late Adulthood
476
471
472
Contemplating Suicide
476
Suicide Notes
479
Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention
481
xvii
Prevention
Intervention
Postvention
482
483
484
Helping a Person Who Is in Suicidal Crisis
Further Readings
487
CH A P T ER
485
13
Risks, Perils, and Traumatic Death
Accidents and Injuries
Risk Taking
491
Disasters
494
489
490
Reducing the Impact of Disasters
498
Coping with the Aftermath of Disaster
499
Violence
501
Random Violence
503
Serial Killers and Mass Murderers
Familicide
505
Steps Toward Reducing Violence
War
503
506
507
Technological Alienation
508
The Conversion of the Warrior
509
Coping with the Aftermath of War
511
Making War, Making Peace
513
Genocide
Terrorism
516
517
September 11, 2001
519
Rescue, Recovery, and Mourning
The Mind of the Terrorist
521
Horrendous Death
523
Emerging Infectious Diseases
524
The Response to AIDS
525
Living with AIDS
527
The Threat of Emerging Diseases
Traumatic Death
Further Readings
xviii
529
529
521
527
CH A P T ER
14
Beyond Death / After Life
531
Traditional Concepts About Life After Death
532
Jewish Beliefs About Death and Resurrection
534
Classical Greek Concepts of Immortality
536
Christian Beliefs About the Afterlife
538
The Afterlife in Islamic Tradition
542
Death and Immortality in Asian Religions
543
Hindu Teachings About Death and Rebirth
544
The Buddhist Understanding of Death
547
After-Death States in Tibetan Buddhism
550
The Consolations of Religion
551
Secular Concepts of Immortality
552
Near-Death Experiences: At the Threshold of Death
NDEs: A Composite Picture
555
Dimensions of Near-Death Experiences
Interpreting Near-Death Experiences
556
558
Death Themes in Dreams and Psychedelic Experiences
Beliefs About Death: A Wall or a Door?
565
Further Readings
566
CH A P T ER
554
562
15
The Path Ahead: Personal and Social Choices
569
Exploring Death and Dying
570
Cultural Competence
572
New Directions in Thanatology
574
Gaining a Global Perspective
576
Bridging Research and Practice
580
Creating Compassionate Cities
Living with Death and Dying
581
584
Humanizing Death and Dying
585
Defining the Good Death
587
xix
Death in the Future
591
Postscript and Farewell
596
Further Readings
597
Epilogue, by David Gordon
Notes
601
Credits and Sources
Name Index
Subject Index
xx
677
693
671
599
Preface
I
n The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying, we offer a comprehensive
and readable introduction to the study of death and dying, one that highlights
the main issues and questions. The study of death?or thanatology, from the
Greek thanatos, meaning ?death??is concerned with questions rooted at the
core of our experience. Thus, the person who sets out to increase his or her
knowledge of death and dying is embarking on an exploration that is partly
a journey of personal discovery. This is a journey that has both cognitive
(intellectual) and affective (emotional) components. Thus, The Last Dance
embodies an approach to the study of death and dying that combines the
intellectual and the emotional, the social and the psychological, the experiential and the scholarly.
The title The Last Dance relates to a book written by Carlos Castaneda
about the warriors of the Yaqui Indian tribe in Central America. Because a
warrior can die on any day, the warrior makes a dance of power in the face
of death. Castaneda says that, to truly live, we must keep death over our left
shoulder. In other words, death is part of life and, because we can die at any
time, we should be dancing through life.
The painting on the cover, The Dance of Life, by Norwegian artist Edvard
Munch, evokes thoughts of the inexorable, compelling cycle of life. It depicts
a festival dance on the Asgaardstrand beach on a midsummer night. An
indifferent moon sheds light on the water while the dancers dance a roundel,
a ring dance. One woman is entering the dance, another is leaving. There is
youth, innocent new life, and age.
We are sometimes asked how we came to write a college textbook on
death and dying. Lynne says, ?It?s as simple as the realization that students
hated buying the many books needed for studying all of the topics important
to learning about death and dying. And I hated having to assign all those
books. One day at the start of a new semester, after getting the usual complaints from students, I whined to Al, ?Why isn?t there just one book that a
student could pick up and put under his or her arm that would cover all of
these topics?? Al?s response was, ?Well, why don?t we write one???
So, some years ago, after five years dedicated to research and writing, The
Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying was born. Each subsequent edition
reflects the changes and transformations that have occurred in the field of
xxi
death studies. This book provides a solid grounding in theory and research
as well as in methods for applying what is learned to readers? own circumstances, both personal and professional. It encourages a constructive process
of self-discovery. The Last Dance is not an indoctrination to any particular
point of view but, rather, an introduction to diverse points of view. The values
of compassion, listening, and tolerance for the views of others are emphasized. Readers may form their own opinions, but when they do we hope it
is only after considering other possibilities in a spirit of open-mindedness.
Unbiased investigation leads to choices that might otherwise be neglected or
overlooked.
While retaining the popular features of earlier editions, this new edition
of The Last Dance reflects the ongoing evolution of death studies. Although
people sometimes think, ?What changes about death?? the truth revealed
in these pages is that much has changed in recent decades and continues to
change in the present. Because of this fact, every chapter has been revised to
integrate the latest research, practices, and ideas and to enhance clarity of
presentation.
Throughout the text, we give attention to the ways cultural and ethnic
viewpoints shape our relationship with death, and there is specific discussion of the viewpoints and traditions associated with people of African heritage, Hispanic heritage, Native American heritage, Jewish heritage, Celtic
heritage, Arab heritage, Oceanian heritage, and Asian heritage, including
the diverse cultures of Southeast Asia as well as the cultures of India, China,
Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines. In the pages of The Last Dance, you
will also find coverage of
? Ongoing developments in care of the seriously ill and dying, especially as
they pertain to hospice and palliative care
? Death through the life course, from infancy through later adulthood,
including a new section on death and the college student
? New directions in mortuary services, including personalized funerals, ?green
burials,? and innovative options for body disposition and memorialization
? A changing health care system and its impact on dying and death
? How the Internet is influencing our relationship to death, dying, and
bereavement in the digital age
? Insights about grief gained through an appreciation of the dual process
and two-track models of coping with bereavement, as well as other models
that can aid in understanding bereavement, grief, and mourning, including discussion of working through grief, maintaining continuing bonds
with the deceased, and ?telling the story? or narrative approaches to
coping with grief
? How achieving the ?Care-Full Society? and striving toward the creation of
?compassionate cities? could improve and enhance our encounters with death
xxii
In addition, this edition contains new and updated material on physicianassisted suicide, remembrance rituals and linking objects, grief counseling
and grief therapy, horrendous death, the placebo effect, familicide, and the
death of a companion animal.
The study of death is unavoidably multidisciplinary. Accordingly, contributions from medicine, the humanities, and the social sciences are all
found here in their relevant contexts. Throughout the book, principles and
concepts are made meaningful by use of examples and anecdotes. Boxed
material, photographs, and other illustrative materials expand upon and
provide counterpoint to the textual presentation. Specialized terms, when
needed, are clearly defined. Accompanying this edition is a companion
Online Learning Center, www.mhhe.com/despelder10e, designed to promote mastery of the material covered in the text itself. We urge readers to
make use of these features.
Chapter-by-Chapter Tour
Before you begin using The Last Dance, please join us for a quick tour through
the text.
? In Chapter 1, we look at expressions of attitudes toward death in mass
media, language, music, literature, and the visual arts. We ask what it
means to live with an awareness of death, and we explore death anxiety,
or fear of death. We conclude by examining the reasons people tend to be
unfamiliar with death in modern, cosmopolitan societies.
? In Chapter 2, we investigate how we learn about death throughout the life
course.
? In Chapter 3, we explore historical and cultural factors that shape attitudes and practices relative to dying and death.
? Chapter 4 shows how public policy affects our dealings with dying and
death by means of a society?s ?death systems.? Certification of death, the
role of coroners and medical examiners, the functions of autopsies,
procedures for legally defining and making a determination of death,
medicolegal views of homicide and capital punishment, and rules regarding organ donation and transplantation are important aspects of the
death system. An instructive cross-cultural example describing how Japan
has dealt with ethical, moral, and legal questions involving brain death
and organ transplantation wraps up this discussion.
? Care of dying persons is the primary focus of Chapter 5. Topics include
health care financing; rationing of health resources; the relationship
between caregivers and the patient; hospice, palliative care, and home
care; elder care; trauma and emergency care; death notification procedures; and caregiver stress and compassion fatigue.
xxiii
? Chapter 6 deals with a variety of issues and decisions that pertain to the
end of life. Some of these issues and decisions become important in
the context of diagnosis and treatment?for example, informed consent. Others come to the fore when individuals face a more immediate
prospect of dying. These include choices about withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining medical treatment, physician-assisted death, and
euthanasia, as well as issues involving artificial nutrition and hydration.
Also discussed is the rule of double effect, which may be invoked when a
medical intervention that is intended to relieve suffering leads to death.
Some issues regarding the end of life can be dealt with before the crisis
of a life-limiting illness?for example, making a will, setting up a living
trust, obtaining life insurance, and completing advance directives to
express wishes about medical treatment in the event one becomes incapacitated.
? Chapter 7, with its focus on how people live with a life-threatening illness,
gives attention to the psychological and social meanings associated with
such illnesses and offers insight about the ways individuals and families
cope with ?living-dying,? from the time of initial diagnosis to the final
stages of the dying trajectory. Discussion includes treatment options and
issues, as well as pain management and complementary therapies. The
chapter concludes with sections on the social role of the dying patient and
advice about being with someone who is dying.
? The ceremonies and rituals enacted by individuals and social groups after
a death form the content of Chapter 8. Death rites and customs create
opportunities for expressing grief and integrating loss. This chapter examines the nature and function of last rites, with particular attention to the
history of mortuary services in the United States. Information about the
options for funeral services and body disposition, as well as a discussion
about making meaningful choices, completes the chapter.
? Chapter 9 is devoted to helping readers gain a comprehensive understanding of bereavement, grief, and mourning. A number of important
models of grief are discussed, with the recognition that any notion that
?one size fits all? is likely to be inadequate. An understanding of the ways
people experience and express grief, and of the variables that influence
grief, demonstrates that there are many ways to cope with grief and to
provide support to the bereaved. The concluding section shows that,
despite loss, bereavement can present opportunities for growth.
? Employing a life-span perspective, Chapters 10 and 11 deal with deathrelated issues associated with different stages of life, from early childhood
through old age.
? Chapter 10 includes discussion of children with life-threatening illness
and discussion of children as survivors of a close death. It provides guidelines for helping children cope with change and loss.
? Chapter 11 examines losses occurring in adulthood, such as miscarriage,
stillbirth, and neonatal death, and the death of a child, a parent, a spouse,
xxiv
?
?
?
?
or a close friend, as well as losses associated with aging. A new section on
death in the lives of college students has been added for the tenth edition.
Chapter 12 offers insights into suicide and its risk factors, including the
social and psychological context of suicide and suicidal behavior; life-span
perspectives on suicide; psychological autopsies; suicide notes; and suicide
prevention, intervention, and postvention. The chapter concludes with
advice about helping someone who is in a suicidal crisis.
Chapter 13 broadens the scope of death-related risks and threats. These
include accidents and injuries, disasters, violence, war, genocide, terrorism, emerging diseases, and other examples of horrendous and traumatic
death.
Questions about human mortality and its meaning are at the forefront in
the final two chapters of the book. Chapter 14 describes a variety of both
religious and secular viewpoints, as well as accounts of near-death experiences, to present a survey of concepts and beliefs concerning immortality
and the afterlife. Whether death is viewed as a ?wall? or as a ?door? can
have important consequences for how we live our lives.
Chapter 15 emphasizes personal and social values that are enhanced by
learning about death. Examples of new directions in thanatology include
efforts to bridge research and practice, clarify the goals of death education, gain an international perspective, and create compassionate cities,
as well as to improve cultural competence. What does it mean to live with
death and dying? Bringing together a host of topics covered in earlier
chapters, this final chapter presents food for thought that can stimulate
consideration of how a ?good death? might be defined.
For those who wish to pursue further study of particular topics, a list
of recommended readings is provided at the end of each chapter, and citations given in the chapter notes provide guidance to additional sources and
references. Thus, while the text serves as an introduction to a broad range of
topics in death studies, readers are pointed to resources for investigating topics that evoke special interest.
Supplements
In addition to the textbook itself, there are a number of instructor and student resources available.
? The Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/despelder10e provides
instructors with a Test Bank, Instructor?s Guide, PowerPoint presentations,
quizzes, and other premium instructor?s content. This premium content
contains numerous files ranging from instructor?s resources on the Web
to activities an instructor might use such as a questionnaire to examine
attitudes and experiences.
? For students, the Online Learning Center, www.mhhe.com/despelder10e,
offers a glossary, and each chapter has quizzes, Web activities, chapter
objectives, key terms, and flashcards.
xxv
Acknowledgments
The Last Dance has been reviewed by professors in a broad range of academic
disciplines. Their suggestions have helped to make this text an outstanding teaching tool. Formal reviews have been provided by Jennifer T. Aberle,
Colorado State University; Susan Adams, University of Central Arkansas;
Joel R. Ambelang, Concordia University, Wisconsin; Lisa Angermeier, Indiana University at Bloomington; Patrick Ashwood, Hawkeye Community
College; Thomas Attig, Bowling Green State University; Ronald K. Barrett,
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles; Michael Beechem, University of
West Florida, Pensacola; Laura Billings, Southwestern Illinois College; John
B. Bond, University of Manitoba; Tashel Bordere, University of Central Missouri; Sandor B. Brent, Wayne State University; Tom Bruce, Sacramento City
College; John P. Colatch, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania; Elizabeth
M. Collier, The College of New Jersey; Richard Cording, Sam Houston State
University; Charles A. Corr, Southern Illinois University; Gerry R. Cox, Fort
Hays State University; Illene N. Cupit, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay;
Steven A. Dennis, Utah State University; Kenneth J. Doka, College of New
Rochelle; Donald J. Ebel, Minnesota State University; Alishia Ferguson, University of Arkansas; Stephen J. Fleming, York University, Toronto; Audrey K.
Gordon, Oakton Community College; Judy Green, Walsh University, Ohio;
Debra Bence Grow, Pennsylvania State University; John Harvey, Western
Illinois University; Russell G. Henke, Towson State University; Lorie Henley, Finger Lakes Community College; David D. Karnos, Eastern Montana
College; Linda C. Kinrade, California State University, Hayward; Dennis
Klass, Webster University; Anthony Lenzer, University of Hawaii at Manoa;
Daniel Leviton, University of Maryland; Paul C. Luken, Arizona State University West, Phoenix; J. Davis Mannino, Santa Rosa Junior College; Coleman
C. Markham, Barton College, North Carolina; Wendy Martyna, University
of California, Santa Cruz; Samuel J. Marwit, University of Missouri; Debbie
Mattison, University of Michigan School of Social Work; Marsha McGee,
Northeast Louisiana University; Walter L. Moore, Florida State University,
Tallahassee; Lachelle Norris, Tennessee Tech University; Tina Olson, Arizona State University; Leah Rogne, Minnesota State University; Vincent M.
Rolletta, Erie Community College; Cheri Barton Ross, Santa Rosa Junior
College; Lee Ross, Frostburg State University, Maryland; Rita S. Santanello,
Belleville Area Community College, Illinois; Thomas W. Satre, Sam Houston
State University; Edwin S. Shneidman, University of California, Los Angeles;
Virginia Slaughter, The University of Queensland; Judith M. Stillion, Western
Carolina University; Gordon Thornton, Indiana University of Pennsylvania;
Jeffrey S. Turner, Mitchell College; Mary Warner, Northern State University,
South Dakota; Hannelore W