SZABO Reference • Bibliography—Thanatology Traced to the 1700s, the term thanatology is defi ned as the study of the broad and AND complex topic of death. Because of the breadth of the published material and the DEATH DYING challenges of discovery in large bibliographic databases and catalogs, fi nding and identifying monographic material on death, dying, grief, and bereavement can be extremely challenging. Although several bibliographical resources have been published on thanatology, DEATH those titles were incomplete, limited in scope, or leaned heavily toward one area of the AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE THANATOLOGICAL LITERATURE fi eld while ignoring others. In Death and Dying: An Annotated Bibliography of the Thanatological Literature, John F. Szabo provides more than 2,200 citations of monographs, many annotated, on the sci- ence and study of death and dying. Among the areas addressed are the psychological, philosophical, and attitudinal aspects; coping and dealing with the burdens of care- giving and working in the helping professions; instructional and educational topics AND for practitioners, primarily healthcare providers; cultural differences in bereavement rituals; and grief, mourning, and loss. In addition, notable titles on or relating to death and dying in popular culture, death themes in literature, methods of death, or specifi c ethical, policy, or public issues are also included when they contribute important infor- DYING mation to subject areas on which the book focuses. Death and Dying will be helpful to students, researchers, academics, caregivers, healthcare professionals, psychologists, social workers, and anyone interested in death, dying, bereavement, or care of the terminally ill. JOHN F. SZABO is director of the Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System. He is the author of Mortuary Science: A Sourcebook (Scarecrow Press, 1993). AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE For orders and information please contact the publisher THANATOLOGICAL LITERATURE SCARECROW PRESS, INC. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefi eld Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706 JOHN F. SZABO 1-800-462-6420 • fax 717-794-3803 www.scarecrowpress.com DeathDyingPODLITH.indd 1 10/8/09 11:09:33 AM Death and Dying An Annotated Bibliography of the Thanatological Literature John F. Szabo The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham • Toronto • Plymouth, UK 2010 Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 http://www.scarecrowpress.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright © 2010 by John F. Szabo All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Szabo, John F., 1968– Death and dying : an annotated bibliography of the thanatological literature / John F. Szabo. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8108-7275-2 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8108-7276-9 (ebook) 1. Death—Bibliography. 2. Thanatology—Bibliography. I. Title. Z5725.S93 2010 016.1559'37—dc22 2009029795 ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America Contents Introduction v 1 Adolescents 1 2 Aging and Death 6 3 Attitudes toward Death 11 4 Bibliographies 18 5 Childhood Bereavement 23 6 Communication about Death 41 7 Coping and Caregivers 46 8 Cross-Cultural Views on Death and Dying 57 9 Death Education 72 10 The Death of a Child 80 11 Dying 92 12 Eschatology 113 13 Ethical Issues 116 14 Fear of Death 125 15 General Works 128 16 Grief and Mourning 149 17 Historical Views of Death and Dying 193 iii iv Contents 18 Hospice 200 19 Immortality 213 20 Legal and Financial Issues 216 21 Mental Health Issues 220 22 Miscellaneous 225 23 Near-Death Experiences 227 24 Nursing 231 25 Palliative Care 234 26 Parental Loss and Grief 242 27 Pastoral Care 249 28 Philosophical Studies 257 29 Practitioner Education 265 30 Rituals 276 31 Sibling Loss and Grief 282 32 Thanatology 285 33 Widowhood 289 Name Index 301 Title Index 327 About the Author 375 Introduction Since Geoffrey Gorer’s essay “The Pornography of Death” in 1955, there has been a clear and unarguable deluge of publishing in the subject areas of death, dying, grief, and bereavement. Gorer asserts that while sex was the pornography of Victorian society, death is today’s pornography. This provocative proposition led to significant writing and research on death attitudes, the psychology of death, viewing death and grief as a natural part of life, and a reevaluation of care for the dying. All of this, of course, has diminished the taboo of death and dying, though it has certainly not eliminated it. While it can be traced to the 1700s, the term thanatology has gained traction in recent decades to refer to the study of the broad and complex topic of death. Thanatology is fundamentally the interdisciplinary study of death, dying, grief, and bereavement; however, use of the term is seen more commonly in academic works, specifically scientific, and those intended for practitioners in the helping professions. There have been several bibliographical resources published on thanatology in an effort make discovery easier. Unfortunately, those titles are now limited due to their age. Many of them were incomplete at the time, were limited in scope, or leaned heavily toward one area of the field while ignoring others. From my bibliographical work on mortuary science, funerals, and other death rituals, I discovered that a bibliographical resource that encompassed all of thanatology was seriously needed. Because of the breadth of the published material and the challenges of discovery in large bibliographic databases and catalogs, finding and identifying monographic material on death, dying, grief, and bereavement can be extremely challenging without such a resource. This book provides more than 2,200 citations, many annotated, on the sci- ence and study of death and dying; psychological, philosophical, and attitudinal aspects; coping and dealing with the burdens of caregiving and working in the v vi Introduction helping professions; instructional and educational topics for practitioners, pri- marily health care providers; rituals, but limited to the contexts of bereavement and cultural differences; and grief, mourning, bereavement, and loss. It does not include titles on death and dying in popular culture; death themes in literature; methods of death (homicide, suicide, cancer, and so forth); or specific ethical, policy, or public issues around death and dying (euthanasia, right-to-die, capital punishment, etc.). There are, of course, numerous exceptions. Notably, titles on or relating to these areas are included when they contribute important information to subject areas on which the book focuses. The greatest volume of material is on grief, mourning, bereavement, and loss, primarily because these titles have the broadest audience and, as the taboo of death topics has subsided, the desire for popular materials on these subjects has swelled. While much of this material has self-help or religious themes, there is a sizeable body of research material on this subject. General works on loss have only been included when they provide useful content on loss associated with death. A huge sea of material exists on childhood bereavement, the death of children and adolescents, and communicating with young people about death and dying. Categorizing these can be difficult, as much of this material covers all three areas. Noted death educator Kenneth J. Doka’s Children Mourning, Mourning Children is an excellent example of this collective treatment. I hope that this book will be helpful to students, researchers, academics, care- givers, health care professionals, psychologists, social workers, and anyone with an interest in death, dying, bereavement, or the care of the terminally ill. I am indebted to librarians, library support staff, and collections from many libraries, but I am particularly indebted to the rich collections of Emory Univer- sity Libraries. 1 Adolescents 1. Allen, Janet. Using Literature to Help Troubled Teenagers Cope with End- of-Life Issues. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001. 2. Baxter, Grant, and Wendy Stuart. Death and the Adolescent: A Resource Handbook for Bereavement Support Groups in Schools. Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 1999. 3. Bode, Janet. Death Is Hard to Live With: Teenagers Talk about How They Cope with Loss. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1993. Cartoon artwork by Stan Mack. Bode uses personal stories, vignettes, graphics, and a direct discussion of death to present the issue to young adults. She covers funerals, violent deaths, parental and sibling death, and the myriad of feelings experienced by teenagers. Com- ments or explanations by professionals on various subjects are offered throughout the book. Bode also offers some treatment for issues of cultural and religious variations in approaching death, dying, and bereavement. References for recom- mended books and videos are presented