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

Abstract

Family life is permanently and irrevocably changed by death, requiring those bereaved to adopt new ways of ‘doing’ family. Drawing on data from a qualitative study of sibling bereavement experiences, this article demonstrates that death can retain a powerful presence for the living, shaping the way that family members relate to one another. It is argued that bereavement can influence the establishment, and enactment, of family practices, thus highlighting that family practices can be subtly couched in the context of bereavement. This article expands Morgan’s concept of family practices in a direction that has yet to be explored. It will conclude that sociologists can learn more about the dynamic intricacies of family life by recognising the potential influence of death and bereavement on the way that relationships are navigated and negotiated over time.