Do Funerals Matter? : The Purposes and Practices of Death Rituals in Global Perspective

"Do Funerals Matter? is a creative interweaving of historical, sociocultural, and research-based perspectives on death rituals, drawing from myriad sources to create a picture of what death rituals have been; and where, especially in the Western world, they are going. Death educators, researchers, counselors, clergy, funeral-service professionals, and others will appreciate the book's theory- and research-based approach to the ways in which different cultural groups memorialize their dead. They will also find clear clinical and practical applications in the author's exploration of the five ritual anchors of death-related ceremonial practice and help for professionals counseling the bereaved surrounding funerals. Based on nearly three decades of research and teaching on funeral rites, this volume promises to fill an important gap in the cross-cultural literature on bereavement, while answering an important question for our generation: Do funerals matter?"--Publisher's website Bill Hoy is a top name bereavement and a regular at the annual ADEC conference, and in 2013 he'll be the conference chair This is a thoughtfully conceived text on that bridges the gap between two important areas; it will be of interest (and was well reviewed by) professionals in both these areas Hoy is well known and well regarded in both US and international circles for his work on death rituals Crucially, Hoy is one of those authors who does his own marketing—he gives multiple workshops and trainings each month, and through his efforts we'll be able to reach our target audiences even more directly than we otherwise would