Enc. of Death and Dying (Facts on File Library of Health & Living)

This series is a collection of clear, comprehensive, and up-to-date resources for understanding and coping with the complexities of modern health and social concerns. Each volume contains an extensive A-to-Z reference section, detailed appendixes, substantial bibliographies, and comprehensive directories of additional resources.

Aimed at a general readership and billed by the editors (a professional nonfiction editor and two professors from the U. of Oklahoma College of Medicine) as a "primer for any discourse on end- of-life care," this encyclopedia contains some 500 alphabetical entries that explain medical, social, religious, and legal concepts related to the process of dying and coping with death. Coverage is relatively broad and eclectic, including entries on (for example "Confucianism and death," "capital punishment," the "Funeral Service Consumer Assistance Program," "miscarriage," "reincarnation," "survivor guilt," and "Victorian mourning dress." Included in the appendices are a sample Advanced Care Plan document; a directory of organizations, groups, and museums; a sample death certificate; an end-of-life planning checklist; and a bibliography for further research.
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