1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910826478203321

Autore

Walter Carolyn Ambler

Titolo

The loss of a life partner [[electronic resource] ] : narratives of the bereaved / / Carolyn Amber Walter

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York, : Columbia University Press, c2003

ISBN

0-231-52934-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (303 p.)

Disciplina

155.9/37

155.937

Soggetti

Bereavement - Psychological aspects

Death - Psychological aspects

Grief

Loss (Psychology)

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [261]-268) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter One. Theories of Grief: How They Inform Our Understanding of the Loss of a Partner -- Chapter Two. Loss of a Partner: Current Issues -- Chapter Three. Loss of a Spouse -- Chapter Four. Loss of an Opposite-Sex Partner -- Chapter Five. Loss of a Gay Partner -- Chapter Six. Loss of a Lesbian Partner -- Chapter Seven. Similar and Diverse Themes Among Bereaved Partners -- Chapter Eight. Interventions -- Chapter Nine. Clinical Implications -- References -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Although there is extensive research on the loss of a spouse, predominantly focusing on the experiences of widows, much less attention is paid to bereaved partners not married to their significant other, whether or not the partners are of the same sex. This first-of-its-kind work explores both socially sanctioned and disenfranchised grief, highlighting similarities and differences. Combining a discussion of various theories of grief with personal narratives of grieving men and women drawn from numerous interviews, and detailed case study analysis, Carolyn Ambler Walter has produced a penetrating examination of the bereavement experiences of partners in varying types of relationships. She views narratives of widows, widowers, and



bereaved domestic gay and lesbian partners from a postmodern perspective that breaks away from the traditional belief that the living must detach themselves from the dead in order to move on with their lives. Instead, building on the works of postmodern grief theorists such as Klass, Silverman, and Nickman, Walter views ongoing bonds with the dead as a resource for enriching functionality in the present, and as a key to looking to the future.