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This thesis analyzes the relationship between collaboration and learning to cope with grief in Denise Desautels' poetic works. It shows that this writing strategy influences the representation of mourning and contributes to the learning process, which is characterized by a constant oscillation between opposing poles, such as life and death, the past and present, the self and other, the private and public realms, as well as art and writing. The thesis further demonstrates that Desautels' development of an interdisciplinary approach gives rise to a community of the bereaving and enables the poetic subject to distance herself from melancholy in order to foster a new aim toward happiness. It concludes that the mourning process never reaches completion, but is constantly renegotiated.

A deep interest in how relationships, specifically romantic partnerships, cope with and survive tragedies, guides this research. My research question was: What are the narratives of intact bereaved couples whose children have died after receiving palliative care for a life-limiting illness? Five couples were interviewed who had lost their children ranging in age from 1-14 years of age. This loss occurred between 2 to 9 years previous to this study. The purpose of this narrative research study was to better understand the ways in which intact marital partners/couples coped together with the stress and grief involved in having a child with a life-limiting condition and then having that child die after receiving palliative care. A secondary aim was to bring forth their voices through their narratives as a means to address the stigmatization and isolation often experienced by those who are bereaved, especially those who have lost a child. This project informs professionals who are working with couples undergoing the struggle of a child's critical illness or who are working with bereaved couples. Each couple's narrative account was written in story format. In addition to the rich information gained from reading the holistic stories, 5 themes emerged through a categorical content analysis which were: 1) the last thing you worry about are issues about us, 2) accommodating one another's coping, 3) recognizing sources of support and limitations, 4) two souls against the world, and 5) we have a common bond : lessons and legacy of the child.

The grief experienced by mothers and fathers when their child is diagnosed with a life threatening chronic-illness was investigated in order to validate the presence of grief in these parents and look at the factors that influence it. More specifically, I was interested in whether the grief experience differed for mothers and fathers and the impact that perceptions and coping have on both these gender differences in grief and on grief in general. The particular population investigated in this study were parents of children with Cystic Fibrosis. Participants were recruited through questionnaires randomly sent out by the National Cystic Fibrosis Association. In all, 37 mothers and 15 fathers took part. Results not only confirmed presence of grief in these parents but also indicated that this grief differs for mothers and fathers, with mothers reporting significantly higher levels of physical distress. In line with the literature no gender differences were found in regards to perception of impact parents felt their child's chronic-illness had had on their lives. Contrary to what was expected, however, no differences were found amongst the coping strategies used by mothers and fathers. In regards to the question of which factors have the greatest impact on the grief experienced by mothers and fathers combined, the coping strategy of self-blame was found to be the most important, followed closely by negative perceptions. The significance of these findings and their implications for parents and the people who work with them was discussed.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 232-238.

Thesis (MA(Practical Theology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-78) Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 309-321). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-67).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Ashland Theological Seminary, 2004. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-110).