Perspectives on the experience of sudden, unexpected chhild death : the very worst thing?

This book combines autobiography and innovative narrative research to create an original psychosocial perspective on the often taboo subject of sudden, unexpected child death. Beginning with the author’s own experience, the book investigates manifold aspects of sudden, unexpected child death, including the professional rapid response; contemporary cultural reactions to death; theories of grieving; child death inquiries and popular media reporting. At the heart of the book are intimate personal stories, drawn from unprecedented psychosocial research on this topic, which combine to create a unique record of parent’s experiences following the sudden and unexpected death of a child. Additionally, the book offers original guidance on the Biographic Narrative Interpretive methodology, which extends knowledge of group data analysis. The book will be of great methodological interest to the psychosocial community, as well as to health and social care professionals and lay readers interested in both sudden, unexpected child death and the wider field. Preface 6 Contents 8 1: Introduction 12 ‘Rapid Response’ 13 ‘Turning a Blind Eye?’ 15 Context and Approach of this Book 16 Characteristics of the Research Study 18 Structure of this Book 19 References 20 2: ‘A Place for Experience’ 22 Introduction 22 Joe’s Story 24 Being a Bereaved Parent 31 What Survives the Storm 35 Seeking a Place for Experience 37 Conclusion 38 References 39 3: Death in an Era of Inquiry 41 Introduction 41 ‘Emotional Politics’ 42 ‘The Age of the Inquiry’: ‘Failure’, ‘Blame’ and ‘Defensive Practice’ 48 ‘Systematic Investigation’ and a ‘Sensitive, Caring Approach’: Professional Perspectives 56 ‘Like a Surrealist Play’: Parental Perspectives 63 ‘Knowing the Right Moment’ 72 ‘A Good Death’ 77 ‘Organising Disturbing Experiences’ 79 Conclusion 80 References 81 4: Discovering the Depths 86 Introduction 86 ‘Researching Beneath the Surface’ 87 Klein and the ‘Space That Connects’ 89 Debates in the Psychosocial 91 ‘A Space Not Fully One or the Other’ 92 Writing as a ‘Method of Inquiry’ 95 Telling Stories 96 The Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method 98 Data Analysis Panels 100 Ethics 101 ‘Real Humans’ 105 Conclusion 107 References 107 5: Collective Stories 111 Introduction 111 ‘It’s All Been in Pods of Time’: Threads of Temporality 114 ‘I Was a Bit Annoyed’: Threads of Emotion 119 ‘She Really Did Put Herself on the Line’: Threads of Professional Intervention 124 ‘The Point Where I Was Most Unlike Myself’: Threads of Parental Identity and Agency 132 ‘And My Daughter Came Running In’: Threads of Siblings and Subsequent Children 137 ‘Is There Ever Going to Be a Light at the End of the Tunnel?’: Threads of Chaos and Meaning-Making 141 Conclusion 145 References 146 6: Cathy 148 Introduction 148 Context 149 Cathy’s Story 151 ‘An Aggressive Story’: Cathy’s Interpretive Panel 161 ‘The Story I Expected to Hear’: Exploring Meaning in Cathy’s Panel 164 Conclusion 168 References 168 7: Julia 170 Context 171 Julia’s Story 172 ‘A Beautiful Story’: Julia’s Interpretive Panel 180 ‘Why Is She So Blessed When Her Baby Has Just Died?’: Exploring Meaning Within Julia’s Panel 185 Conclusion 187 References 188 8: Laurie 189 Introduction 189 Context 190 ‘Laurie’s Story’ 191 ‘A Useful Story’: Laurie’s Interpretive Panel 204 ‘Everything Is Out of Control’: Exploring Meaning Within Laurie’s Panel 208 Conclusion 210 References 211 9: ‘Arriving Where I Started’ 212 Introduction 212 Navigating ‘a Place for Experience’ 213 Can a Parent Get Over the Death of a Child? 214 ‘Getting Over It’ 220 ‘Excluded Middles’ 222 ‘It’s Good This Grief’ 227 Knowing the Place for the First Time 231 Conclusion 237 References 237 Afterword 241 Index 244 This book combines autobiography and innovative narrative research to create an original psychosocial perspective on the often taboo subject of sudden, unexpected child death. Beginning with the author?s own experience, the book investigates manifold aspects of sudden, unexpected child death, including the professional rapid response; contemporary cultural reactions to death; theories of grieving; child death inquiries and popular media reporting. 0At the heart of the book are intimate personal stories, drawn from unprecedented psychosocial research on this topic, which combine to create a unique record of parent?s experiences following the sudden and unexpected death of a child. Additionally, the book offers original guidance on the Biographic Narrative Interpretive methodology, which extends knowledge of group data analysis. 0The book will be of great methodological interest to the psychosocial community, as well as to health and social care professionals and lay readers interested in both sudden, unexpected child death and the wider field Annotation Denise Turner combines autobiography and innovative narrative research to create an original psychosocial perspective on the often taboo subject of sudden, unexpected child death. Beginning with the author's own experience, it investigates manifold aspects of sudden, unexpected child death, including the professional rapid response; contemporary cultural reactions to death; theories of grieving; child death inquiries and popular media reporting. At the heart of the book are intimate personal stories, drawn from unprecedented psychosocial research on this topic, which combine to create a unique record of parent's experiences following the sudden and unexpected death of a child Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction (Denise Turner)....Pages 1-10 ‘A Place for Experience’ (Denise Turner)....Pages 11-29 Death in an Era of Inquiry (Denise Turner)....Pages 31-75 Discovering the Depths (Denise Turner)....Pages 77-101 Collective Stories (Denise Turner)....Pages 103-139 Cathy (Denise Turner)....Pages 141-162 Julia (Denise Turner)....Pages 163-181 Laurie (Denise Turner)....Pages 183-205 ‘Arriving Where I Started’ (Denise Turner)....Pages 207-235 Back Matter ....Pages 237-249