Our understanding of mortality and our hope of resurrection should make the falling asleep of a loved one easier to bear. Yet, however great our faith, mourning is a natural and necessary process. Because death affects us all so differently, there can be no easy answers to the problems of coping with bereavement. But there are some basic principles and Sis. Joan Thomas, drawing from her own experience and that of others, offers many valuable suggestions. Writing sensitively, yet without sentimentality, she considers not just the emotions of the first few moments but the lasting effects of loneliness and loss. This is a valuable guide to that time of sorrow – and subsequent healing – which all, sooner or later, have to face.