Citation

Breen LJ, O'Connor M. Death Stud. 2010; 34(1): 30.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/07481180903372384

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence demonstrate the limited utility of a narrow construction of “normal” grief. Sudden and violent death, the young age of the deceased, and perceptions of death preventability are associated with grief reactions that extend beyond an expected grief response. Interviews were conducted with 21 adults bereaved through the death of a family member in a traffic crash. We present their attempts to resist notions of “working through” grief and “recovery” from it and consider how the participants' constructions of an alternative discourse, or normative narrative, possess the potential to challenge a prevailing grief discourse.