In this introductory text on thanatology, Alan R. Kemp takes on the central question of mortality: the ubiquitous presence of death despite the very human propensity to deny its relevance to oneself, personally. Drawing on the work of pioneering anthropologist Ernest Becker, Death, Dying, and Bereavement in a Changing World provides a multidisciplinary and multidimensional introduction to the study of death, dying, and bereavement, putting extra emphasis on how we understand and experience it in a rapidly changing world. This new, third edition includes the most up-to-date coverage of the research, data, and figures related to death, dying, and bereavement. It includes coverage of new research on the alternative death care movement, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, suicide, homicide, mass shootings, as well as terrorism and domestic extremism. Also covered is discussion about the use of cannabis to help address the effects of treatments for life-threatening illnesses, like cancer, clinical studies on the use of psychedelics to help with end-of-life-distress, updated information on medical assistance in dying, as well as the latest research on the experience of bereavement, grief, and mourning. But, perhaps most importantly, it includes an entirely new final chapter on learning how to live until we die. Written to be an accessible and expansive overview of our changing encounters with death, dying, and bereavement, the third edition remains a reflective and deeply insightful book for students across specialized fields in psychology, sociology, human services, social work, counseling, and theology.
