Columbia University Press
Visitors at the End of Life
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Author / Editor information
Reviews
In Visitors at the End of Life, Allan Kellehear moves beyond whether visits from dead are real or imagined and probes the deeper question of what they mean. Illustrating with copious accounts of visitations, Kellehear makes them as understandable as any other social encounter. Visitors at the End of Life contains much wisdom and much comfort for the bereaved.
Douglas Davies, Durham University:
Just what is the social logic behind human experiences of our dead? This renowned death-studies scholar challenges us to create an ‘intellectual space’ to question simplistic answers by reframing our approach to the enigmas of experience encountered by millions across diverse world cultures.
Janice Miner Holden, editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies:
Establishing quickly that near-death experiences, deathbed visions, and visions of the bereaved are commonplace, Kellehear examines how these experiences exemplify established principles of social interaction and addresses perhaps a crucial question: What can these experiences offer to the dying, their family and friends, and humanity at large? A must-read for anyone with a personal or professional interest in the human dying and bereavement processes.
Kenneth J. Doka, coauthor of Death and Dying, Life and Living, eighth edition, and senior consultant, Hospice Foundation of America:
A respectful examination of visitations from the dead on a deathbed and in bereavement, Kellehear adds to an emerging body of work that is of great interest. Visitors at the End of Life does an excellent job addressing this topic with an objective and serious tone.
Topics
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Frontmatter
i -
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Contents
vii -
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Preface
ix - PART I Conflict and Context
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1 Visitors Near Death Are They “Real”?
3 -
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2 Hallucinations
21 -
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3 Perception
39 - PART II Patterns of Custom and Solicitation
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4 Greetings and Other Customs
63 -
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5 Advice
80 -
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6 Transformation
96 -
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7 Gifts
113 - PART III A Pattern Directing the Patterns
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8 Vigils
133 -
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Conclusion
150 -
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Acknowledgments
159 -
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Notes
163 -
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Bibliography
181 -
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Index
193