Godless Grief Book TWO

[deity]

Hi all,
If you want to be included in the second book, let me know. The entire book is only focused on death as a form of loss. I've written chapters about dealing with shock, dealing with the last wishes of others, dealing with family.

I'm adding "The Body is Missing"- this takes into account the many people who are killed or seem to have fallen off the earth. There is a section on not being able to confirm a death, emotionally, because the person was killed in military, police, fire, or myriad other services. How do we grieve over someone if we still have questions about where they are and what happened to them? One example is that of a family who went boating in the Bahamas, but was hist by a rogue wave. By the time the water cleared there were only three of the eleven people left alive and of the rest, only six were found by recovery teams. Another story involves a family who lost their son in Viet Nam, and although they were told his body was buried at a location- they found that of the dozens of boys also buried in the area, only s smattering of remains were found, none with dog tags, and none identifiable.

Another section of the book is primarily focused on issues with losing children, whether by disease, accident, or even murder. It's horrendous that the number of illnesses children face have not lessened over the last 100 years, but the treatments haven't grown by very far either.

Blame and Guilt make their way into Godless Grief Two-including survivors' guilt, death by self-defense, dealing with friends and family who have elected suicide, and many more topics that need frank, open discussion. At an event some time back, a nurse asked about the guilt aspect- of causing someone's death unintentionally- as someone who is doing her job. The she asked about the guilt of intentionally helping someone to die when there seemed to be no other way for that person to live a meaningful life. The topic is filled with vibrant debate, and some direction for those of us who lead secular lives.

The last section of the book is dedicated to helping each of us plan for our own demise. Some of us are aware that we have illnesses we will succumb to, and others are firmly convinced they'll live for decades. There is direction on how to bring the topic up in a family conversation. What will become of our remains? What do we expect for a final goodbye? Do we want our bodies to be donated to medical research, cremated, buried, or....?

Through the second book, as was the case in the first, YOUR stories are told. You talk about fears, and anger, sadness, sorrow, and numbness. It is about you, me, and any other Atheist who wants to know 'then what happens'?

Feel free to post your thoughts on chapter ideas, and if you want your story included, you can PM me.


deity

[3Dobes]

Hi Cathe,
I'm back!
Not sure what you mean by being included in the next book, but hey, sure!
Heard from any of the old regulars lately?

[deity]

We have a lot of new registrations, since the publication, but not many posting yet. I hope that's actually good- and that they're not hurting- and if they are, they know they're welcome without "better place" babble.

deity