Re-Membering Lives: Conversations With the Dying and the Bereaved

Grief is frequently thought of as an ordeal we must simply survive. This book offers a fresh approach to the negotiation of death and grief. It is founded in principles of constructive conversation that focus on "remembering" lives, in contrast to processes of forgetting or dismembering those who have died. Re-membering is about a comforting, life enhancing, and sustaining approach to death that does not dwell on the pain of loss and is much more than wistful reminiscing. It is about the deliberate construction of stories that continue to include the dead in the membership of our lives. The book specifically rejects common assumptions about the need to seek closure, complete unfinished business, work through stages, or say final goodbyes. Re-membering also rejects the idea that relationships end when biological life ends. Lorraine Hedtke and John Winslade offer this innovative approach by weaving inspiring stories with accessible practices that can be used by professionals and others to ease the transitions that death brings. The book demonstrates and illustrates the practical implications of recent and radically divergent thinking in the field of death and grief. It is a book that has the potential to startle and at the same time to bring fresh hope and comfort to many who walk in the valley of the shadow of death.