Some of the generic questions addressed throughout are: Do men and women grieve differently? Do most men cope with grief in similar ways? and Do we need special ways to help men grieve? Dr. Dale Lund, the editor, believes that we must be careful not to overstate, exaggerate or focus only on the differences between men and women and ignore all that they have in common. Similarly, we need to be cautious about how we describe the ways men grieve because there is considerable variation that is often overlooked if we search only for the "male way." The chapter authors present stimulating ideas, experiences, and evidence related to these questions and concerns. They are not always in agreement but they are interesting and provide potentially very valuable knowledge.
The book is divided into three basic parts. First, several chapters deal primarily with conceptual issues related to death, bereavement, grief, gender, and masculinity in order to provide a foundation for understanding the ways in which men grieve. These chapters rely on history, philosophy, culture, theory, and personal experiences. The second part presents original research findings regarding men in various grief situations. The final section examines a wide range of helping techniques from interventions and therapies designed by highly skilled professionals to self-help groups and basic helping strategies. Suggestions and recommendations stemming from these chapters are relevant to clinical and mental health professionals, educators, clergy, support group leaders, family members, friends, and those who are grieving. Many of the chapter discussions are applicable to those who are interested in changing cultural messages related to gender, grief and mental health to make our values, norms and beliefs less rigid, more accurate and less judgmental.
