The last dance : encountering death and dying / 5th ed.

Preface p. xix
Prologue p. 1
Attitudes Toward Death: A Climate of Change p. 5
Factors Affecting Familiarity with Death p. 8
Expressions of Attitudes Toward Death p. 13
The Present Milieu: Death Attitudes and Awareness p. 32
Examining Assumptions p. 37
Further Readings p. 39
Learning About Death: The Influence of Sociocultural Forces p. 41
A Mature Concept of Death p. 42
Development of the Understanding of Death p. 44
Sociocultural Influences on Our Understanding of Death p. 52
Theoretical Perspectives on Society and Culture p. 70
Death in Contemporary Multicultural Societies p. 76
The Mature Concept of Death Revisited p. 83
Further Readings p. 85
Perspectives on Death: Cross-Cultural and Historical p. 87
Early, Primitive, and Traditional Cultures p. 88
Western Culture p. 93
Cultural Case Studies p. 103
Rediscovering the Commemoration of Death p. 123
Further Readings p. 123
Health Care Systems: Patients, Staff, and Institutions p. 125
Modern Health Care p. 126
Care of the Dying p. 132
Elder Care p. 142
Trauma and Emergency Care p. 144
Caregiver Stress p. 147
Being with Someone Who Is Dying p. 149
Further Readings p. 150
Death Systems: Matters of Public Policy p. 153
Defining Death p. 154
Organ Transplantation and Organ Donation p. 166
Medical Ethics: A Cross-Cultural Example p. 170
Death Certification p. 174
The Coroner and the Medical Examiner p. 176
Autopsies p. 177
The Impact of the Death System p. 180
Further Readings p. 180
Facing Death: Living with Life-Threatening Illness p. 183
Personal and Social Meanings of Life-Threatening Illness p. 184
Coping with Life-Threatening Illness p. 187
Treatment Options and Issues p. 198
The Dying Trajectory p. 212
The Social Role of the Dying Patient p. 214
Further Readings p. 217
End-of-Life Issues and Decisions p. 219
Principles of Medical Ethics p. 220
Informed Consent to Treatment p. 221
The Caregiver-Patient Relationship p. 227
Choosing Death p. 232
Advance Directives p. 245
Wills and Inheritance p. 253
Probate p. 258
Insurance and Death Benefits p. 262
Considering End-of-Life Issues and Decisions p. 264
Further Readings p. 265
Survivors: Understanding the Experience of Loss p. 267
Bereavement, Grief, and Mourning p. 268
The Experience of Grief p. 271
Models of Grief p. 281
Variables Influencing Grief p. 289
Support for the Bereaved p. 301
Bereavement as an Opportunity for Growth p. 304
Further Readings p. 306
Last Rites: Funerals and Body Disposition p. 309
Psychosocial Aspects of Last Rites p. 310
Funerals in the United States p. 316
Selecting Funeral Services p. 320
Body Disposition p. 331
Making Meaningful Choices p. 340
Further Readings p. 345
Death in the Lives of Children and Adolescents p. 347
Early Childhood Encounters with Death p. 348
Children with Life-Threatening Illnesses p. 351
Children as Survivors of a Close Death p. 355
Support Groups for Children p. 365
Helping Children Cope with Change and Loss p. 367
Further Readings p. 379
Death in the Lives of Adults p. 381
Parental Bereavement p. 382
Death of a Parent p. 395
Spousal Bereavement p. 397
Death of a Friend p. 402
Aging and the Aged p. 404
Further Readings p. 407
Suicide p. 409
Comprehending Suicide p. 410
Explanatory Theories of Suicide p. 414
Some Types of Suicide p. 422
Risk Factors Influencing Suicide p. 425
Lifespan Perspectives on Suicide p. 430
Contemplating Suicide p. 435
Suicide Notes p. 437
Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention p. 439
Helping a Person Who Is in Suicidal Crisis p. 443
Further Readings p. 446
Risks of Death in the Modern World p. 449
Risk Taking p. 450
Accidents p. 453
Disasters p. 453
Violence p. 457
War p. 466
Terrorism p. 476
AIDS and Other Emerging Diseases p. 486
Coping with Risks p. 492
Further Readings p. 493
Beyond Death / After Life p. 495
Traditional Concepts About Life After Death p. 496
Jewish Beliefs About Death and Resurrection p. 498
Classical Greek Concepts of Immortality p. 500
Christian Beliefs About the Afterlife p. 502
The Afterlife in Islamic Tradition p. 505
Death and Immortality in Asian Religions p. 507
Secular Concepts of Immortality p. 513
Near-Death Experiences: At the Threshold of Death p. 515
Death Themes in Dreams and Psychedelic Experiences p. 523
Beliefs About Death: A Wall or a Door? p. 526
Further Readings p. 527
The Path Ahead: Personal and Social Choices p. 529
The Value of Exploring Death and Dying p. 530
New Directions in Death Education p. 534
Death in the Future p. 541
Living with Death and Dying p. 546
Postscript and Farewell p. 550
Further Readings p. 551
Epilogue p. 553
Notes p. 555
Credits and Sources p. 641
Name Index p. 645
Subject Index p. 658