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Columbia University Press

book: Visitors at the End of Life
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Visitors at the End of Life

Finding Meaning and Purpose in Near-Death Phenomena
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2020

About this book

This book is about how, when, and why our dead visit us. Allan Kellehear—a medical sociologist and expert on death, dying, and palliative care—has gathered data and conducted studies on deathbed visions across cultures.

Author / Editor information

Allan Kellehear is 50th Anniversary Professor of End of Life Care at the University of Bradford. His books include A Social History of Dying (2007) and The Inner Life of the Dying Person (Columbia, 2014).

Reviews

Bruce Greyson, University of Virginia:
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.

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  • PART I Conflict and Context
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  • PART II Patterns of Custom and Solicitation
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  • PART III A Pattern Directing the Patterns
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
October 26, 2020
eBook ISBN:
9780231544023
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
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Downloaded on 15.4.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7312/kell18214/html
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