From a lifespan development perspective, the authors address the major aspects of the dying and grieving process. The text focuses on the practical application of the theories and explanations presented. Features: * Holistic perspective includes physical, emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual aspects. * In each chapter there are personal accounts. * The text is family oriented. * Chapter 1 illustrates how issues in this field have changed quite rapidly over time. * A separate chapter on suicide illustrates that sudden death involves many unique issues when compared to an expected death. New to this edition: * Chapter 1 has been completely revised to provide context for: changes in the primary causes of death, the increase in violence in U.S. society, bioethical and legal issues, the impact of technology, and multicultural environments. * An increased focus on various aspects of culture recognizes the diversity within the U.S. Ethnic differences and international comparisons are evident in "Multicultural Environments" section of Chapter 1, examples and boxes throughout the text, and in personal accounts. * More focus on sudden death and life-threatening illness, as well as violent death (Chapter 1), sudden death (Chapter 3), homicide (Chapter 6), and war (Chapter 8).