The Aftermath of Death in the Continuing Lives of the Living: Extending ‘Bereavement’ Paradigms through Family and Relational Perspectives

Abstract

While there is a significant interdisciplinary and international literature available on death, dying and bereavement, literature addressing responses to death is dominated by assumptions about individuality, framing ‘bereavement’ and ‘grief’ in terms of the inner psychic life of the individual. Scholarly literature tells us little about how the continuing aftermath of death is experienced in the everyday, relational lives of the living. Inspired by research from Majority Worlds, we consider literature that might enable a more ‘relational’ sociological approach, and explore what that might involve. We set out the potential for family sociology to provide an intrinsically (if variable) relational lens on the aftermath of death, along with examples of radical relational theorising more generally. We argue for a reframing and broadening of the dominant ‘bereavement studies’ of Minority Worlds towards a much-needed paradigm shift in understanding the continuing aftermath of death in the lives of the living.

‘There’s a huge hole left in the middle of the family’: locating family practices within the context of (sibling) bereavement

“…Once again, however, there is insufficient exploration of how people experience these moments and thus the impact of death on their everyday family relationships is overlooked. Indeed, the literature overall is preoccupied with the period of grief immediately following a death, and thus fails to recognise bereavement as an ongoing experience that families navigate and negotiate over time (Ribbens McCarthy et al, 2023). As such, very little is known about the impact of ongoing experiences of bereavement on family life.…”

“…In doing so, it reconnects death with the mundanity of everyday life, emphasising the relational and temporal nature of bereavement experiences, and enhancing our overall understanding of how family members relate to one another. As such, it contributes to a small but growing body of work that demonstrates how connecting death studies with the sociologies of families, relationships and personal lives, can greatly improve our understanding of living relationships (Woodthorpe and Rumble, 2016;Borgstrom et al, 2019;Almack, 2022;Towers, 2022;Ribbens McCarthy et al, 2023).…”

“…Yet such thinking reflects the dominant medicalised understanding of bereavement as a condition to be treated (Valentine, 2008), and transforms death into something disconnected from the mundanity of everyday life (Ellis, 2013). It also conceptualises bereavement in individualistic terms, to be managed in isolation from social relationships, and thereby fails to recognise the relational nature of bereavement experiences (Ribbens McCarthy et al, 2023). Bereavement denotes a state of loss, whereas grief is an emotional reaction to that loss (Doka and Martin, 2010).…”

“…For better or worse, family life is irreparably changed following a death (Funk et al, 2017), with significant implications for ongoing family relationships (Almack, 2022). Yet death studies is typically concerned with understanding how people maintain relationships with the dead, and so very little attention has been given to the ways that people manage ongoing relationships with the living following a death (Woodthorpe and Rumble, 2016;Ribbens McCarthy et al, 2023). A small number of studies have begun to explore how death affects families and the way they 'do' relationships in bereavement; specifically, in relation to inheritance (see Finch and Mason, 2000) and funeral planning (see Woodthorpe and Rumble, 2016;Woodthorpe, 2017).…”

Prolonged grief disorder symptomology in three African countries: A network analysis and comparison

“…In African cultures, where family and community ties are of great importance, the loss of a loved one may be more likely to result in prolonged distress (McCarthy et al, 2023 ). This underscores the need to validate grief disorder frameworks to reflect cultural differences and contextual influences.…”