Life After Loss

October 15, 2001
Author of the seminal 1975 Life After Life
and renowned expert on near-death experiences, Moody teams up with grief counselor Arcangel to provide a comprehensive and compassionate manual for the bereaved. Personal stories illustrate the short- and long-term effects of the death of a loved one, an event considered life's most stressful. With a clear and empathetic understanding of grief, Moody and Arcangel move beyond Kübler-Ross's stages of mourning to explore the variations in individual experience as influenced by such specific factors as the bereaved's personality and the circumstances surrounding the death, as well as more general factors, like cultural pressure. Arguing that "Grief is not an emotion but a process with a host of emotions," and that "each person is the expert for his or her grief alone," the authors emphasize the fallacy of assigning set timetables and linear phases to grieving. Offering plenty of helpful advice—how to cope with stress, how to get sympathy, etc.—Moody and Arcangel gently guide mourners through the four tasks of healthy grief (and here their debt to Kübler-Ross is clear): accepting the reality of the loss, working through the emotional pain, adjusting to the changed environment and moving forward. Going beyond loss can lead to "a spiritual rebirth" through increased appreciation, humility, tolerance, passion, clarity, sensitivity, spirituality and love. (Dec.)Forecast:On September 11, the audience for this work grew by the thousands. As of this writing, an author tour to selected cities (though none on the East Coast) is planned for January.