Post the newsprint with Elizabeth Kübler-Ross’s stages of grief. Introduce a discussion, saying:
Kübler-Ross’s work was very helpful when it was published in 1969. Her work pushed Western culture into a new understanding of grief. Contemporary understanding tells us the stages are not linear. A person may skip a stage or two, may repeat a stage or two, and may get stuck in the process. We know now that these are not really stages but rather recognizable aspects of grieving.
Invite participants to reflect on both the Kübler-Ross work and the prereading they have done about bereavement. Lead a discussion, using some of these questions to guide you:
How does the presence or absence of supportive community affect the grief process?
What is the effect of our culture’s emphasis on the individual?
What is the effect of family health (or dysfunction) when a death in the family occurs?
How do work policies regarding bereavement time help or hinder our coping?
Are we impatient with grief? Does the “celebration of life” focus common at Unitarian Universalist memorial services short-circuit or deny grief?
Are we willing to acknowledge the anger that is often part of the grieving process?
How do contemporary trends such as delaying funerals, videotaping funerals, and private rites (or none at all) fit with what we know about grief and mourning?
In what ways are we urged to use pharmaceuticals to medicate and mediate the pain of grief? What other nonpharmaceuticals are used for the same purpose?
What gender differences are there in how we experience grief and loss?
How is grief different with an expected death than it is with a sudden or unexpected death? Is the bereavement process for a violent or accidental death different from the process for other kinds of death?
Can one ever attain closure after losing a loved one?
