Understanding Dying Death and Bereavement 8th Edition

Book Review
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Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement by Michael R. Leming and George E. Dickinson
There is mystery in death, dying and even bereavement. Everyone is significantly curious about what happens when one is dying and even dead (Leming & Dickinson, 2015). The bereavement process on the other hand is an entirely different platform and experience for those that are left behind. Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement, is textbook that is authored by two sociology professors; Michael R. Leming and George E. Dickinson. This is thus a book about thanatology, which is basically the study of dying death and the phenomenon related. Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement, in its eighth edition was pushed in the year 2015, at Cengage Learning (Leming & Dickinson, 2015). The book has a total of 624 pages through which the reader’s mind is taken through the processes of death, dying and bereavement. The perspective on the book is largely social to help the audience better connect with the content at a personal and social level. As such it would be easily be classified under sociology or social sciences. For the readers who are interested in this particular edition, the book is under the ISBN 1305537610, 9781305537613 (Leming & Dickinson, 2015). This is a book that is grounded in research and theory to bring the audience to place where they can best establish their feelings and handle the processes of death and grieving.
There are thirteen chapters in the book where the authors bring out some of the most intriguing research and theory information to the readers (Dying Matters, 2017). The authors are able to connect with the rest of the editions that have come before for the readers that have read them and even those that have not (Scicluna, 2001). The authors make reference to the American Experience of Death with some significantly vivid images of some of the experiences that the country has experienced (Leming & Dickinson, 2015). Other than the experiences that most of the people have had in their adult life, there is also reference to the elements of the way that people were brought up and how it impacts the understanding on the subject matter (Dying Matters, 2017). This is crucial as different people will interpret death and dying from very different perspectives, given the fact that they have been exposed to different experiences growing up.
Other than the fact that book also handles the dying process along with living and dying, it also handles one of the most controversial topics, euthanasia. This is a topic that has for the longest time generated missed reactions. Ideally, the topic revolves around the right of the patients to take their own life or have assisted dying processes from a professional (Kellehear, 2017). The authors use research material to bring out the main challenges associated with the topic along with the processes of handling the same. For the patient, this is a difficult decision that they have to make and it is not any easier on the family and friends (Leming & Dickinson, 2015). To better bring out the concepts, the authors also elaborates on the elements of suicide to better bring out the main differences between the...