The 40 short reflections in this book address the ways in which we face the prospect of death and loss. The first 20 reflections are designed to be read by (or to) anyone living with a life-threatening illness; the other 20 are reflections on living with grief, especially bereavement. Each reflection is based on a single story drawn from one of three sources: Dr. Kellehear's professional experience with individuals living with dying or loss; his own experiences and stories from childhood; and the retelling of some of the great myths and legends about life, love, and death, selected from...

Our experiences of dying have been shaped by ancient ideas about death and social responsibility at the end of life. From Stone Age ideas about dying as otherworld journey to the contemporary Cosmopolitan Age of dying in nursing homes, Allan Kellehear takes the reader on a 2 million year journey of discovery that covers the major challenges we will all eventually face: anticipating, preparing, taming and timing for our eventual deaths. This book, first published in 2007, is a major review of the human and clinical sciences literature about human dying conduct. The historical approach of this...

A multidisciplinary introduction to the topic of dying, providing insights from medicine, social sciences and humanities.

What does graffiti reveal about social behaviour?Where can you find out about Australian social values without doing your own survey?There is more to social research than surveys and in-depth interviews. The Unobtrusive Researcher looks beyond the limited accounts people provide of themselves to examine society at a deeper level.Written in a clear, easy to read style, The Unobtrusive Researcher is a practical guide to a range of methods that can supplement and, at times, even replace conventional social research. It is essential reading for new and experienced researchers in the Social...