Perspectives on the Experience of Sudden, Unexpected Child Death : The Very Worst Thing?

This book combines autobiography and innovative narrative research to create an original psychosocial perspective on the often taboo subject of sudden, unexpected child death.  Beginning with the author’s own experience, the book investigates manifold aspects of sudden, unexpected child death, including the professional rapid response; contemporary cultural reactions to death; theories of grieving; child death inquiries and popular media reporting. At the heart of the book are intimate personal stories, drawn from unprecedented psychosocial research on this topic, which combine to create a unique record of parent’s experiences following the sudden and unexpected death of a child. Additionally, the book offers original guidance on the Biographic Narrative Interpretive methodology, which extends knowledge of group data analysis. The book will be of great methodological interest to the psychosocial community, as well as to health and social care professionals and lay readers interested in both sudden, unexpected child death and the wider field.