Neither traditional religion nor modern medical procedures make sense of the personal experience of many who are dying or bereaved. In response, there has been a massive revival of interest in developing new ways of talking about death. This revival, while reinstating some traditional practices and retaining medical expertise, seeks ultimate authority elsewhere: in the individual self. The new death is personal, facilitated by palliative care, the life-centred funeral, and bereavement counselling.

How, though, are people to know how to die and to grieve? Is the modern self able to make free choices here? What role do professional carers and their theories play in shaping the experiences of people who are dying or bereaved? How do such people learn from each other? To what extent are they influenced by stereotypical ideas of the good death? Is it possible for the self to be in control when the body has lost control?

Can the unique personality of the deceased be incorporated into traditional funeral ritual? This is the first book comprehensively to examine the revival of death as a subject and relate it to theories of modernity and postmodernity. The book will interest not only social scientists but anyone learning to care for the dying, the dead or the bereaved.