The Perfect Stranger's Guide to Funerals and Grieving Practices: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People's Religious Ceremonies (Paperback)

~ Stuart M. Matlins (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"These books are important tools to help people avoid many pitfalls as they wander across the spiritual landscape.” -- Detroit Free Press

No other book comes close to being as comprehensive and easy to read. A treasure, long overdue. -- Helen Fitzgerald, C.D.E. (Certified Death Educator); author of The Mourning Handbook and The Grieving Teen

“A wealth of information….‘strangers’ to a religion will know exactly how to act, react, and console friends of differing religions.” -- Ron E. Wilder, President, Association for Death Education and Counseling

“Enables strangers to be better neighbors in a global community.” -- Prof. John L. Esposito, Director, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University

“The things Miss Manners forgot to tell us about religion.” -- Los Angeles Times

“This book couldn’t have come at a better time…. A welcome stranger.” -- Chicago Sun-Times

Product Description

The help you need to do the right thing in a difficult situation

Grieving the loss of a loved one, friend or colleague is an important process--one that can be made unnecessarily awkward if you’re not familiar with the religious tradition in which the grieving takes place, and end up feeling uncertain about how to behave. You want to be sure that you know what to do and what to expect. There’s no need to enter an unfamiliar atmosphere unprepared, wondering:

Are flowers appropriate? Is there anything I need to avoid doing or saying? What does this faith believe about death? What should I wear? What is the appropriate behavior if viewing the body?

The Perfect Stranger’s Guide to Funerals and Grieving Practices helps to solve these mysteries and many more, telling you everything you need to know to avoid embarrassment, express your condolences in an appropriate way, and do the right thing in a difficult situation.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Skylight Paths Publishing (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893361209
• ISBN-13: 978-1893361201
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,671 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help to navigate the cultural and religious maze at death, April 11, 2001

By	[e-mail] (Seal Beach, CA) - See all my reviews

In 38 brief chapters, the editor profiles major (and minor) religious groups across North America. He includes the biggies like Baptists, Catholics, and Jews, of course, but he also includes the lesser-known groups like Hindu, Christian Science, Jehovah's Witness, and Bahai.

Each chapter introduces the reader to the history and belief system of the group and then details funeral ceremony practices, burial or cremation rites, ideas about appropriate dress, gifts, and flowers, and suggestions for caring for the bereaved family during and after the funeral. I've seen most of the books on funeral customs in different religious groups. This is a real gem--and the best book like it on the market!