Dealing with Sudden and Unexpected Death:
A Handbook for Survivors

Did You Know. . .

Did you know that more than 43,000 North Americans die in motor vehicle crashes each year? That more than 29,000 complete suicide? That more than 16,000 die from falls? That more than 17,000 die by homicide? Together, more than 150,000 North Americans die each year as a result of sudden, violent death.

Death is never easy, but for families and friends affected by a sudden, violent death, grief is especially traumatic. Deaths caused by accidents, homicide and suicide typically seem premature, unjust, and very, very wrong. Obsessive thoughts and feelings about what the death must have been like for the person who died-and what might have been done to prevent it-often color the grief process. Strong feelings of anger and regret are also common. Understanding and expressing these feelings helps survivors, over time and with the support of others, come to reconcile their loss.

Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program is announcing the publication of a handbook "Dealing with Sudden and Unexpected Death: A Handbook for Survivors" written by Beth Vaughan Cole, Ph.D. APRN, Jan Harvey, MS, APRN and Leslie Miles, R.N. The handbook, published this month by the University Health Sciences Center, contains a checklist of things to do in the first 24 hours after death, keeping a notebook of information, making child care arrangements, notifying friends and family, talking about organ donation and locating a will and keeping it safe. It also discusses initial grief responses, such as confusion and denial, funeral arrangements, and what to expect out of children at certain ages and how to help them understand death.

Copies of the book are available at the College of Nursing for $8.99, plus tax, shipping and handling. To order the book, call 585-9522 or mail in order form. Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed to open and print the order form. Click the link to download a free version of Acrobat Reader