The first cross-cultural investigation of how humanity copes with the reality of death, this new understanding of the afterdeath in much the same way the work of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross does for the dying process. Using extensive and innovative research, anecdotes, and stories, Sukie Miller has woven together the results of groundbreaking studies of attitudes world wide toward the afterdeath. Identifying four distinct stages of the afterdeath, Waiting, Judgment, Possibilities, and Return, she clarifies and analyses the results of her work in India, Brazil, Indonesia, West Africa, and the United States.