Title: Healing:   Questions and Answers for Those Who Mourn  Author: Terence P. Curley, D.Min.  ISBN: 0-8189-0905-6  Paperback: xviii + 110 pp.  Price: $9.95 + shipping  To Order call:  1 800-343-ALBA (2522)  Please have your Master, Visa  or American Express card ready. To order online click here.

The product of two decades of working with the bereaved, Healing: Questions and Answers for Those Who Mourn was written specifically for those who are experiencing the suffering which stems from the loss of a loved one. Since so much of the literature on this subject tends to be academic in nature and approach, it was felt that by using a question-answer technique, the kind of brief explanation one needs at such a time could be provided more effectively. This work looks at the initial phase of loss (the time of the death, funeral and period immediately following), the transitional phase (a period of approximately two to three months in which one tries to sort out what has happened), and the final phase (the period of readjustment and reintegration into society). The emphasis throughout is on the spiritual needs that must be met and the comfort that comes from a deep personal relationship with the Lord when we suffer the loss of a loved one.

 

Terence P. Curley, D.Min., has authored several books, written numerous articles and has three videos and an audio presentation on separation and loss. He has served as adjunct faculty member at Lesley College Graduate School in Counseling Psychology and Expressive Therapy in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He received his doctorate from Boston University and is a licensed mental health counselor. He has also served as President of the Board of Trustees for the National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved, Cleveland, Ohio. Father Curley has worked with the Archdiocese of Boston's Family Life Office and is the Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Nahant, Massachusetts. Among the works that he has published with Alba House are The Ministry of Consolation: A Parish Guide for Comforting the Bereaved,  Healing the Broken-Hearted, Consoling the Grief-Stricken,  A Way of the Cross for the Bereaved, Six Steps for Managing Loss and a video entitled  Journey to Healing: a Ministry for the Bereaved.  Reviews "Healing: Questions and Answers for Those Who Mourn by licensed mental health minister and former board of trustees president, National Catholic Ministry to the Bereaved, Fr. Terence P. Curley, D.Min. Written in 5 sections -- Facing the Loss (with 'Spiritual Help for Those Who Grieve), Changes/Passages While We Mourn (includes prayer models and scripture exploration), Continuing Our Journey ('Spiritual Transformation'), an Afterword examining tough issues (sense of powerlessness, 'conforming our will,' self-help options), and Appendices that examine the relationship of faith to issues of dying, death, and bereavement. Worth noting: Glossary of Terms for Grief. Much wisdom, drawn from faith and experience, packed into 128 pages." --Crux of the News, February 25, 2002 "Healing: Questions and Answers for Those Who Mourn uses a question- and-answer format to examine the spiritual needs of a person who experiences the loss of a loved one through death." --Clare Boehmer, ASC in Review for Religious, March-April 2002 "Living with our memories of loss can be the most difficult part of our lives. Father Curley has written extensively on all aspects of separation and loss, and he gives excellent advice in this little book with an ingenious format. The book is brief and very concise -- and it's in question-and-answer format. What are some of the normal emotional responses associated with grief? What are the 'Prayers After Death? --'These prayers assist those who are mourning to place the immediate loss into the context of prayer.' How do the psalms speak to the very intense feeling of longing? When did our special devotion to Mary and her sorrows appear? What are the Basic Rights of Those Who Mourn? -- (expression, grieving, connecting, confidentiality, relating the story of loss, developing a new spiritual relationship with the deceased...). Curley is very straightforward, his answers to many questions sensitive to a time of raw pain. He admonishes us to be cautious of self-help publications: 'Certain methods and techniques fall short in addressing the whole person. There has to be a spiritual component for real improvement.' The goal is 'always a better relationship with God through surrender to his will.' This little book is a profound, humble penetration into the heart of suffering and the soul of pain. Curley knows the right questions from experience and provides the valid answers from knowledge. 'We need assistance in living with our memories'." --The Book Reader, Spring/Summer 2002 Top of Page