Although there is extensive research on the loss of a spouse, predominantly focusing on the experiences of widows, much less attention is paid to bereaved partners not married to their significant other, whether or not the partners are of the same sex. This first-of-its-kind work explores both socially sanctioned and disenfranchised grief, highlighting similarities and differences. Combining a discussion of various theories of grief with personal narratives of grieving men and women drawn from numerous interviews, and detailed case study analysis, Carolyn Ambler Walter has produced a penetrating examination of the bereavement experiences of partners in varying types of relationships. She views narratives of widows, widowers, and bereaved domestic gay and lesbian partners from a postmodern perspective that breaks away from the traditional belief that the living must detach themselves from the dead in order to move on with their lives. Instead, building on the works of postmodern grief theorists such as Klass, Silverman, and Nickman, Walter views ongoing bonds with the dead as a resource for enriching functionality in the present, and as a key to looking to the future.

Carolyn Ambler Walter, Ph.D., LCSW, is a professor at the Center for Social Work Education at Widener University, Chester, PA, and maintains a private clinical social work practice. Dr. Walter is co-author of Breast Cancer in the Life Course: Women's Experiences, and is the author of The Timing of Motherhood.

Introduction
Interviews
Overview
Chapter One Theories of Grief: How They Inform Our Understanding of the Loss of a Partner
Classical Paradigm of Grief
Postmodern Paradigm of Grief
Integrating the Paradigms
Chapter Two Loss of a Partner: Current Issues
Review of Literature on Loss of a Spouse
Gender and Grief
Review of Literature on Opposite-Sex Partner Loss
Review of Literature on Same-Sex Partner Loss
Similarities and Differences Among Types of Partner Loss
Chapter Three Loss of a Spouse
Young Widows
Bereaved Older Spouses
Chapter Summary
Chapter Four Loss of an Opposite-Sex Partner
Disenfranchised Grief
Chapter Summary
Chapter Five Loss of a Gay Partner
Issues Faced by a Bereaved Gay Partner
Chapter Summary
Chapter Six Loss of a Lesbian Partner
Issues Faced by a Bereaved Lesbian Partner
Chapter Summary
Chapter Seven Similar and Diverse Themes Among Bereaved Partners
Ambivalence Regarding Existing Ties with Deceased Partner
Discrimination Experienced by Surviving Partners in Nontraditional Relationships
Using Memories and Continuing Bonds with the Bereaved to Cope with Grieving
Developing New Relationships While Continuing Bonds with the Deceased Partner
Making Meaning from the Experience of the Death of a Partner
Chapter Summary
Chapter Eight Interventions
A Classical Model of Interventions with Bereaved Partners
A Postmodern Model of Interventions with Bereaved Partners
Interventions with Bereaved Spouses
Interventions with Young Widows
Interventions with Bereaved Men
Interventions with Bereaved Domestic Partners
Interventions with Bereaved Lesbian Partners
Interventions with Bereaved Gay Partners
Working with Gay and Lesbian Bereaved Partners
Chapter Summary
Chapter Nine Clinical Implications
Clinical Implications for Interventions with Bereaved Partners
Clinical Implications for Interventions with Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Partners
Clinical Implications for a Response to the Events of September 11, 2001
Conclusions
References
Index