Loss of a Life Partner

Carolyn Ambler Walter, Ph.D., LCSW, is a professor at the Center for Social Work Education at Widener University, Chester, PA, and maintains a private clinical social work practice. Dr. Walter is co-author of Breast Cancer in the Life Course: Women's Experiences, and is the author of The Timing of Motherhood.

• Introduction Interviews Overview Chapter One Theories of Grief: How They Inform Our Understanding of the Loss of a Partner Classical Paradigm of Grief Postmodern Paradigm of Grief Integrating the Paradigms Chapter Two Loss of a Partner: Current Issues Review of Literature on Loss of a Spouse Gender and Grief Review of Literature on Opposite-Sex Partner Loss Review of Literature on Same-Sex Partner Loss Similarities and Differences Among Types of Partner Loss Chapter Three Loss of a Spouse Young Widows Bereaved Older Spouses Chapter Summary Chapter Four Loss of an Opposite-Sex Partner Disenfranchised Grief Chapter Summary Chapter Five Loss of a Gay Partner Issues Faced by a Bereaved Gay Partner Chapter Summary Chapter Six Loss of a Lesbian Partner Issues Faced by a Bereaved Lesbian Partner Chapter Summary Chapter Seven Similar and Diverse Themes Among Bereaved Partners Ambivalence Regarding Existing Ties with Deceased Partner Discrimination Experienced by Surviving Partners in Nontraditional Relationships Using Memories and Continuing Bonds with the Bereaved to Cope with Grieving Developing New Relationships While Continuing Bonds with the Deceased Partner Making Meaning from the Experience of the Death of a Partner Chapter Summary Chapter Eight Interventions A Classical Model of Interventions with Bereaved Partners A Postmodern Model of Interventions with Bereaved Partners Interventions with Bereaved Spouses Interventions with Young Widows Interventions with Bereaved Men Interventions with Bereaved Domestic Partners Interventions with Bereaved Lesbian Partners Interventions with Bereaved Gay Partners Working with Gay and Lesbian Bereaved Partners Chapter Summary Chapter Nine Clinical Implications Clinical Implications for Interventions with Bereaved Partners Clinical Implications for Interventions with Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Partners Clinical Implications for a Response to the Events of September 11, 2001 Conclusions References Index

Walter offers 22 stories of individuals whose life partner died, presenting them against a tapestry of bereavement theories and issues. The widows and widowers describe the challenges of reframing their identity and life; particularly powerful are narratives and experiences of gay men and lesbians, because as disenfranchised grievers they lack the access to the legal benefits, supports, and social rituals of mourning... The captivating struggle of grief involves a crisis in meaning as bereavement shatters assumptions, support systems, coupled identity, and patterns of life. Choice First of its kind...psychologists and counselors can benefit from this book. Canadian Social Work Walter's book is well written, accessible and compassionate and certainly extends our understanding of the experiences and needs of bereaved partners. -- Carole Smith Journal of Social Work Well structured and accessible to both lay and professional readers. -- Christine Valentine Mortality