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Children Facing Mortality:Understanding and Addressingthe Impact of ChildhoodExperiences with Death andDyingReviewed by Brook GriesePublished online: 04 Apr 2011.

To cite this article: Reviewed by Brook Griese (2011) Children Facing Mortality:Understanding and Addressing the Impact of Childhood Experiences with Death andDying, Death Studies, 35:4, 373-379, DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2010.497735

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BOOK REVIEWS

Edited byDAVID E. BALK

Children Facing Mortality: Understanding andAddressing the Impact of Childhood Experiences

with Death and Dying

A Review of Children’s Encounters with Death, Bereavement, andCoping edited by Charles A. Corr and David E. Balk. New York:Springer Publishing Company, 2010. 488 pp. (ISBN 978-082613422-6). $70.00. Reviewed by Brook Griese.

Charles A. Corr is a professor emeritus who taught at Southern Illinois Uni-versity. With Clyde Nabe and Donna Corr, he is the author of Death &Dying, Life & Living now in its 6th edition (published by Wadsworth,2009). He and David Balk edited Adolescent Encounters with Death, Bereave-ment, and Coping (published in 2010 by Springer Publishing Company).

David E. Balk is a professor in the Department of Health andNutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York.With Carol Wogrin, David Meagher, and Gordon Thornton, he editedHandbook of Thanatology: The Essential Body of Knowledge for the Study of Death,Dying, and Bereavement (published conjointly by ADEC and Routledge,2007).

Brook Griese is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes inchildhood trauma and loss. She is the co-founder and Research Directorof Judi’s House, a center for bereaved children and families in Denver,Colorado. Dr. McClintic is collaborating with Louise Silvern from theUniversity of Colorado at Boulder to conduct longitudinal research onthe impact of childhood bereavement and the effectiveness of comprehen-sive services provided at Judi’s House.

When invited to review Children’s Encounters with Death, Bereave-ment and Coping, I was excited to delve into a book focused entirelyupon children’s experiences with death and grief. So often in refer-ence books of this type the topic of children is condensed into onlyone or two chapters that can barely begin to cover the important

Death Studies, 35: 373–384, 2011Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0748-1187 print=1091-7683 onlineDOI: 10.1080/07481187.2010.497735

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issues. Balk and Corr’s Adolescent Encounters with Death, Bereavement,and Coping (2009) substantially contributed to knowledge aboutthat often neglected age-group, and now this new volume aboutchildren promised another valuable resource for the field.

The unusual breadth of topics in this book should guaranteeits appeal to a wide range of professionals. I found so much in thisbook to be relevant to aspects of my work that by the time I hadread to its end, I had written dozens of pages of notes. My favor-able opinion of this informative resource left me eager to rec-ommend the book for care providers, researchers, and educatorswho deal with the dilemmas that confront children and familiescoping with death and dying.

Corr and Balk divided the book into four parts: ‘‘Back-ground,’’ ‘‘Death,’’ ‘‘Bereavement,’’ and ‘‘Interventions.’’ Part 1 pro-vides appropriate background in child development as it pertainsto emerging awareness and understanding of death. In the traditionof developmental psychopathology, these initial chapters by Corrgo beyond describing typical developmental processes to carefullytie those processes to developmental complications that can resultfrom early encounters with death. Also reviewed are theories aboutdevelopmental stages of death awareness and understanding, aswell as proposed ‘‘tasks of mourning’’ and psychosocial needs ofgrieving children. Corr wisely cautions about the tendency of stagetheories to oversimplify children’s understanding of death, andinstead emphasizes the importance of listening carefully to individ-ual children to address their concerns and questions honestly andage-appropriately.

Two additional background chapters discuss ethical issues incounseling (Servaty-Seib & Tedrick) or conducting research(Walker) with seriously ill and bereaved children. These issuesinclude the central importance of professional competence, sup-porting autonomy, respecting the need for genuine child assent,protecting confidentiality, and protections against maleficiencefor this highly vulnerable population. In her chapter, Walker high-lights evidence that some research processes—such as empathic,responsive interviews—can actually provide immediate benefitsfor the participants, in addition to providing them with an opport-unity to assist others dealing with similar circumstances.

Part 2 of this book focuses on leading causes of death in chil-dren and efforts that can be made to reduce these death rates.

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These chapters explore the complex impact of diverse childhooddeaths on individuals and communities and discuss ways to sup-port families coping with specific types of deaths. Authors exam-ine, respectively, helpful guidelines for professionals workingdirectly with families of dying infants (Seyda & Fitzsimons); deathsdue to unintentional injuries and homicide (Crumb & Taylor) aswell as infectious diseases (Demmer); and the heartrending experi-ences of healthcare providers, dying children, and families(Stevens, Rymeister, Marie-Proctor, & Bolster). The Stevens et al.chapter provides insightful recommendations that should berequired reading for every health professional working withseriously ill children.

Part 3 focuses specifically on bereavement, with chaptersexploring the impact on children of the deaths of parents (Christ),siblings (Koehler), friends (Cowan), and pets (Toray), as well asa chapter focused on the complex issue of traumatic deaths(Schuurman & DeCristofaro).

Christ’s chapter on parentally bereaved children is an effec-tive integration of research and clinical observations that I expectto be accessible and useful to a variety of readers; the chapter offersvaluable insight into the ways that children and families makesense of and cope with grief over time, as well as their specificneeds and intervention preferences.

Schuurman and DeCristofaro provide a thought-provokingdiscussion of the ever-shifting definitions of trauma and traumaticor complicated grief, and of the field’s nascent understanding of theinterface between trauma and grief. They explore the ongoingdebate about whether a death must be ‘‘objectively traumatic’’ toproduce a traumatic grief reaction, arguing that children’s subjec-tive experience should be our focus. Within their chapter they alsodiscuss the controversial proposal to designate a diagnostic cate-gory for prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in adults (Prigerson &Jacobs, 2001); the conceptualization of Childhood Traumatic Grief(CTG; Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2006); and the theoreticalrelationships between grief and the proposed diagnosis develop-mental trauma disorder (DTD; van der Kolk, 2005).

Finally, Part 4 explores a variety of interventions focused ondeath and dying. These chapters suggest guidelines for talking to(Moore & Moore) and educating (Markell) children about death-related issues, and discuss specific modalities for supporting

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bereaved children and their families. The intervention chaptersillustrate how parents or caregivers can help grieving children(Koehler), principles and practices common in peer support groupsand camps for bereaved youth (Schuurman & Decristofaro), andthe use of expressive arts in grief counseling (Wood & Near). Inter-ventions to support AIDS-bereaved children in sub-Saharan Africa(Hagan & Sandler) and bereaved children with developmental dis-abilities (Markell & Hoover) are also addressed in two additionalchapters. The book ends with chapters focused on care for childrenand youth with life-threatening conditions, including palliative andhospice care (Orloff & Hoff) and psychotherapeutic approaches(Brown & Sourkes). Lastly, an appendix by Corr provides an anno-tated list of books that can be read by or with children dealing withdeath-related issues, which will be an invaluable resource forfamilies and professionals.

Tackling so many important topics about both bereaved anddying children was obviously ambitious, and I found it somewhatchallenging at times to shift back and forth between thinking aboutthese two very different populations. The editors, however, mana-ged their task in a manner that will be useful to a diverse range ofprofessionals, and the comprehensive coverage of death-relatedissues results in an ideal textbook for thanatology courses. Givenhow little education on death and grief is generally included inthe training of mental health professionals, this book could be atremendous teaching tool for training programs to help increasethe number of professionals who are competent in addressing thisubiquitous issue.

Individuals interested solely in bereaved or in terminally illchildren will probably pay attention to only related issues pre-sented in this book, so it is helpful that the chapters stand alonewell and also complement one another. Moreover, although thebook is presented as a guide for all types of care providers, includ-ing mental health and medical professionals, clergy, educators, andparents, I believe that only certain chapters would be particularlyuseful and appropriate for most parents. For instance, bereavedparents terribly busy managing their families and lives amidstthe changes and stress following a death might be overwhelmedby such a comprehensive book. They would be better served byaccess to specific chapters directly relevant to their circumstances,

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such as the chapters on specific types of child losses, and ways totalk with and support bereaved children.

I applaud the editors for choosing authors from diverse dis-ciplines; I found the mix of professional backgrounds refreshing.For a field that is so interdisciplinary in its educational and train-ing background—from individuals working on the front lines inbereavement centers to university-based researchers—it is helpfulto have all voices represented. Authors who focused on present-ing research findings emphasized scientific clarity in their topics,while authors who focused heavily on illustrations about real chil-dren’s experiences clarified the ‘‘human element’’ of childhooddeath and loss. Both approaches are extremely important in thiswork. In this diverse field, it is crucial to bridge the gap betweenresearch and practice (Bridging Work Group, 2005), and to do so,it is necessary to respect the knowledge and contribution of alldisciplines.

This book reflects the state of the field, its current advances,and areas that require further study. There is a clear need in thefield of childhood bereavement for more empirical studies aboutthe effectiveness of interventions—a point emphasized by severalauthors throughout this book and evidenced by a recent meta-analysis of the few effectiveness studies in this area (Currier,Holland, & Neimeyer, 2007). It is noteworthy that the scarcity ofeffectiveness research is particularly true for the interventions mostrepresented in this book. This matter is not an oversight by the edi-tors, but rather evidence of the need for more community-basedresearch, as these are also the interventions used most commonlyin bereavement agencies and widely believed to benefit bereavedchildren.

Hopefully, as the field progresses, future editions of this bookwill include even more intervention options and research findingsthat permit evaluating the effectiveness of all available approaches.It is dangerous and often mistaken to assume that ‘‘one size fits all.’’Acknowledging the uniqueness of grief and the complexity ofhuman experience and child development, as discussed through-out this reference book, it should become obvious that not everychild or caregiver will benefit from the same approach to griefinterventions. It is important to empirically evaluate for whomspecific interventions are most beneficial.

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More research is needed to understand what constitutes an‘‘atypically severe’’ grief reaction and how to assess grief responsesthat might warrant clinical intervention. There is an equally greatneed for studies about the differential effectiveness of grief supportservices and clinical interventions for the various manifestations ofgrief and trauma in children and their caregivers. Prior to under-taking that work, it would first be necessary to develop a sharedframework concerning the types of interventions that are of inter-est and the ways in which those services can be effectively deliv-ered. The amount of work needed is daunting, but it is alsoexciting that the field is on the cusp of important discoveries andgreater understanding in this area.

Corr and Balk’s book will help to inform a new generation ofclinicians, researchers, and students of thanatology, and it mightencourage all of us who work in this field to support the continueddevelopment and testing of effective responses to the needs of chil-dren and families who are coping with death and dying. There arestill many questions that remain for the field to tackle, and thisbook will serve as a valuable guide—clarifying what we havelearned thus far about children’s responses to dying and bereave-ment and illuminating ways in which we can make significantcontributions to the field in the future.

References

Balk, D., & Corr, C. A. (Eds.). (2009). Adolescent encounters with death, bereavement,and coping. New York, NY: Springer Publishing.

Bridging Work Group. (2005). Bridging the gap between research and practicein bereavement: Report from a research exploration and dialogue. DeathStudies, 29, 93–122.

Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Deblinger, E. (2006). Treating trauma and trau-matic grief in children and adolescents. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Currier, J. M., Holland, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2007). The effectiveness ofbereavement interventions with children: A meta-analytic review of con-trolled outcome research. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology,36, 253–259.

Prigerson, H. G., & Jacobs, S. C. (2001). Traumatic grief as a distinct disorder: Arationale, consensus criteria, and a preliminary empirical test. In M. S.Stroebe, R. O. Hanson, W. Stroebe & H. Schut (Eds.), Handbook of bereave-ment research: Consequences, coping and care (pp. 613–637). Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.

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van der Kolk, B. A. (2005). Developmental trauma disorder: Toward a rationaldiagnosis for children with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric Annals, 35,401–408.

Writing and Healing

A Review of Wrestling with the Angel: Literary Writings and Reflectionson Death, Dying and Bereavement by Kent L. Koppelman. Amityville,NY: Baywood Publishing Company, 2010. 151 pp. (ISBN: 978-0-89503-392-5). $39.95. Reviewed by Jeffrey Berman.

Kent L. Koppelman graduated from the University of Nebraska, taughthigh school English and social studies, then earned his PhD from IowaState University. He accepted a position at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, where for 28 years he taught courses in the School of Education.In 1988, Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction selected him as aTeacher Educator of the Year. He retired in 2007, and in that same yearthe College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University presented himwith the Virgil S. Lagomarcino Laureate Award to honor his ‘‘distinguishedachievement in the field of education.’’ He wrote Values in the Key of Life:Making Harmony in the Human Community (Baywood, 2000).

Jeffrey Berman is Distinguished Teaching Professor of English at theUniversity at Albany, State University of New York, and the author of adozen books, including, most recently, Dying to Teach: A Memoir of Love, Loss,and Learning (SUNY Press, 2007; reviewed in Death Studies, 32, 2008,pp. 891–895); Death in the Classroom: Writing about Love and Loss (SUNYPress, 2009); and Companionship in Grief: Love and Loss in the Memoirs ofC. S. Lewis, John Bayley, Donald Hall, Joan Didion, and Calvin Trillin(University of Massachusetts Press, 2010). Death Education in the WritingClassroom is in production with Baywood.

Kent L. Koppelman’s life changed in 1989 when his 19-year-oldson, Jason, died in a car accident. Grief-stricken, Koppelmanturned to reading and writing to understand and cope with hisoverwhelming sorrow. He began compiling quotations from whathe aptly calls the ‘‘wisdom literature’’ on death, grief, and bereave-ment. Quoting Shakespeare’s wry observation, ‘‘Everyone canmaster a grief but he that has it’’ (p. 3), Koppelman suggests thatthe grief process can last a lifetime, as it has in his own case.

Prior to his son’s death, Koppelman had written scholarlyessays published in professional journals, but now he turned to adifferent kind of writing, more personal and expressive. Within a

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