On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss

On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss

Shortly before her death in 2004, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler, her collaborator, completed the manuscript for this, her final book. <i>On Grief and Grieving</i> is a fitting completion to her work. Thirty-six years and sixteen books ago, Kübler-Ross's groundbreaking <i>On Death and Dying</i> changed the way we talk about the end of life. Now <i>On Grief and Grieving</i> will profoundly influence the way we experience the process of grief. <br /> <i>On Death and Dying</i> began as a theoretical book, an interdisciplinary study of our fear of death and our inevitable acceptance of it. It introduced the world to the now-famous five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. <i>On Grief and Grieving</i> applies these stages to the process of grieving and weaves together theory, inspiration, and practical advice, all based on Kübler-Ross's and Kessler's professional and personal experiences, and is filled with brief, topic-driven stories. It includes sections on sadness, hauntings, dreams, coping, children, healing, isolation, and even the subject of sex during grief. <br /> "I know death is close," Kübler-Ross says at the end of the book, "but not quite yet. I lie here like so many people over the years, in a bed surrounded by flowers and looking out a big window....I now know that the purpose of my life is more than these stages....It is not just about the life lost but also the life lived." <br /> In one of their final writing sessions, Kübler-Ross told Kessler, "The last nine years have taught me patience, and the weaker and more bed-bound I become, the more I'm learning about receiving love." <br /> <i>On Grief and Grieving</i> is Elisabeth Kübler-Ross's final legacy, one that brings her life's work profoundly full circle.