This is a grief counselling course. The instuctions are as follows: Having read one of the books you brought to class on greif & loss/ death& dying, write a 5-6 page description and review, commenting on aspects: 1. the accuracy of the material in terms of current knowledge in the field of thanatology 2. Any apparent bias, strength, or weakness 3. the degree to which you believe this book could be helpful or not to a bereaved or grieving or dying client 4. Would you recommend this book and if so, for what client audience/age/type of loss 5. What in particular did you learn from this book or perhaps you were surprised by or that challenged her assumptions?
The book chosen for review is How to Live When a Loved One Dies by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Some points:
– I found that the book could be helpful but is not without its faults. I listened to the book in an audio version and at times read the hard copy as i was listening to the audio. For this type of book – i think audio is good beucase of the guided meditation portions with-in the book. some of the gaps i found was that the book does not work for everyone. Most of the book is focused on self forgiviness and coping with death but i did not find direct mention of forgiving the person who died. I also found that at times it was presepective (give examples in the paper) – it mentioned the “correct” way of mouring or coping with death. While reading the book, I myself was expreincing grief, but in some of the sections I did not feel like I related to many of what was said. I liked that sprituality was encoperated in the writing but i also felt that it was prescriptive – we are all one and the same part (even though I personally have some belief in that, the feeling i kept getting as the reader is that “this is the correct way to think and the right way through”)
I think that this book is helpful but to the right clientele (explain who those are).
One of the books that must be used as a source is:
Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan (3rd Ed.): A Biopsychosocial Perspective by J.McCoyd, J.Koller, & C.Walter (2021) – you can find an e version online for free.
Use in-text citiations and APA 7 style. Use some direct quotes as needed. Ask if you have any questions.