Providing an understanding of the relationship with death, both as an individual and as a member of society. This book is intended to contribute to your understanding of your relationship with death, both as an individual and as a member of society. Kastenbaum shows how individual and societal attitudes influence both how and when we die and how we live and deal with the knowledge of death and loss. Robert Kastenbaum is a renowned scholar who developed one of the world's first death education courses and introduced the first text for this market. This landmark text draws on contributions from the social and behavioral sciences as well as the humanities, such as history, religion, philosophy, literature, and the arts, to provide thorough coverage of understanding death and the dying process. Learning Goals Upon completing this book, readers should be able to: * Understand the relationship with death, both as an individual and as a member of society * See how social forces and events affect the length of our lives, how we grieve, and how we die * Learn how dying people are perceived and treated in our society and what can be done to provide the best possible care * Master an understanding of continuing developments and challenges to hospice (palliative care). * Understand what is becoming of faith and doubt about an afterlife.