Robert Neimeyer, Editor

The work of this book takes us beyond the formulaic approaches of the past, into a world of individual possibilities and personal meaning making. Neimeyer and his colleagues are great teachers. Here they work diligently with their clients to reconstruct even the most traumatic losses into cohesive, highly individualized and meaningful life stories.

Neimeyer, a dedicated and gifted clinician and Professor of Psychology at the University of Memphis, brilliantly guides the progression of chapters to bring out the best his chosen 22 author/clinicians have to give. In doing so, we the readers are treated to the best of what can be known of loss and grief from an organic, narrative framework.

A prominent theme of this book is that manifestations of grief in the bereaved individual can be seen as indicators of the meaning making process which is discussed as the central theme of grief. More scientifically oriented readers will find comprehensive discussions of research programs supporting these tenets, particularly those linking grief with responses to loss involved in trauma. Practitioners will find clinically informed models and ample case descriptions to bridge concepts with real people suffering real losses.

Neimeyer and the other authors of this important text are guiding lights to all who desire to witness and participate in the transformative power a profound loss can set in motion. We cannot recommend this book strongly enough. It is a major contribution to the fields of thanatology and traumatology and leads the way to articulate the paradigm shift occurring in bereavement theory, therapy and research.

Hardcover, 360 pages