The Nature of Grief: The Evolution and Psychology of Reactions to Loss

The Nature of Grief is a new synthesis of material from evolutionary psychology, ethology and experimental psychology on the process of grief. It steps outside of the psychiatric and psychoanalytic perspectives that have dominated grief research for so long, and argues that grief is not an illness or a disorder but a natural reaction to losses of many kinds. The Nature of Grief also considers the cultural and historical context of contemporary ideas about grief, discusses literary, biographical and other non-scientific writings, and includes a wide-ranging, comprehensive and up-to-date review of research. It will be of interest to developmental and clinical psychologists and all those in the caring professions.