The Other Side of Sadness
What the New Science of Bereavement Tells Us About Life After Loss
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- 39,99 lei
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- 39,99 lei
Descrierea editorului
In this thoroughly revised and updated classic, a renowned psychologist shows that mourning is far from predictable, and all of us share a surprising ability to be resilient
The conventional view of grieving--encapsulated by the famous five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance--is defined by a mourning process that we can only hope to accept and endure.
In The Other Side of Sadness, psychologist and emotions expert George Bonanno argues otherwise. Our inborn emotions--anger and denial, but also relief and joy--help us deal effectively with loss. To expect or require only grief-stricken behavior from the bereaved does them harm. In fact, grieving goes beyond mere sadness, and it can actually deepen interpersonal connections and even lead to a new sense of meaning in life.
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He once helped debunk the theory of repressed memory; now this Columbia clinical psychology professor takes on the conventional wisdom about grieving. There's little evidence to support the existence of "stages of mourning" or the corollary that if the stages aren't followed completely, there's cause for alarm. What Bonanno does find is "a natural resilience" that guides us through the sadness of loss, and grief, rather than distracting us, actually causes the mind to focus; it also elicits the "compassion and concern" that humans are hard-wired to offer in response to another's suffering. Bonanno acknowledges that grief is sometimes extreme and requires treatment, much like post-traumatic stress disorder. But with this work, science and common sense come together in a thoughtful, kindhearted way; stories of loss go far beyond striking a familiar chord they give us hope. As one mother who lost her daughter tells Bonanno, even years later she felt her daughter was like a "little ember, and if I need to, if I want to have Claire next to me, I blow on it, ever so gently, and it glows bright again."
