The Politics of Mourning (Grief Management in Cross-Cultural Fiction)Rochelle Almeida
In the age of bereavement counseling, The Politics of Mourning (Grief Management in Cross-Cultural Fiction ), by Rochelle Almeida presents one more popular point of reference in the study of grief management in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural world. The book combines the fictional writings representing the various cultural and religious groups (Judeo-Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Sikh) with how they react to the tragedies of life in a unique approach. It can serve as a handbook for therapists who are called upon to console the suffering families and friends beset by tragedy especially when the therapists and their patients come from very different backgrounds. The first part of the book examines the studies in grief pathographies developing from a single culture to cross-cultural psychotherapy. This is followed by a history grief management from the writings of Freud to Torok including the observation and experimentation of the new theorists such as Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, J. William Worden, and Nicholas Abraham. Included in this section is an important explanation of terminology and definitions. The five stages of grieving common to all suffering peoples is an important explication for the casual reader, the therapist and the patient. Almeida notes that there are gender differences in the way people mourn. Using fictional characters as prototypes, she examines these differences with sensitivity. In examining grief therapy across, she examines many factors including religious influences in how people handle suffering and loss. To provide a standard by which to judge varying bereavement practices, the author chose mainstream fictional authors such as William Faulkner, Raymond Carver and Lydia Davis in a comparison exercise with minority writers such as Amy Tan, Bharati Mukherjee, Chitra Banerjee-Divakaruni, Gloria Naylor, Nisha da Cunha, Shakuntala Bharvani and others. Grouping people into large categories has its drawbacks. For instance, do the people of Scandinavia mourn differently than those in the Mediterranean area even though both may be Caucasian and Christian? Another difficulty is just how representative of the groups studied is a small sampling of fiction. This having been said, the book will provide anyone involved in counseling the bereaved with new insights and understanding of the different problems and difficulties faced by their clients. If grief counselors seriously follow the advice concluded by this study, Dr. Almeida notes: “…Mental health professionals will show their willingness to harness their own abilities for the greater good of society and would be responding to the huge demographic shifts that are occurring in the West…” C.S., Book Digest, Volume V, Number 4 To see a full description of this book, search our online database
TO ORDER BOOKS:
2010 Eastpark Boulevard
Cranbury, New Jersey 08512
Phone (609) 655-4770
Fax (609) 655-8366
TO REQUEST A CATALOGUE:
M-GH2-01
285 Madison Avenue
Madison, New Jersey 07940
Phone (973) 443-8564
Fax (973) 443-8364
fdupress@fdu.edu
TO RECEIVE UPDATES ON NEWLY RELEASED TITLES BY EMAIL:
fdupress@fdu.edu
