Making Sense of Death: Ritual practices and situational beliefs of the recently bereaved in the Netherlands

This book on death rites and situational beliefs in the Netherlands offers valuable insight into the ways in which the recently bereaved make sense of a death. It shows how people seek and create meaning by reinventing ritual repertoires and by re-imagining afterlife beliefs. Attention is given to the changing role of religion, the co-creation of personalized funerals, and to innovation in cremation and remembrance practices. By demonstrating how people transform their relationship with the deceased through material practices, this study emphasizes the widely-overlooked dynamics of continuing bonds. *** "In her analysis, the author displays a commanding grasp of the bereavement literature.... Serious scholars should find much of value in this work.... Recommended." --Choice, Vol. 55, No. 7, March 2018(Series: Death Studies. Nijmegen Studies in Thanatology, Vol. 5) [Subject: Religious Studies, Death Rites]