Communication is at the heart of any complete understanding of the end of life. While it is true that individuals physically die as a single entity, the process of ending an individual life is located within a complex system of relationships and roles connected and constructed through communicative processes. In this volume, top scholars from numerous disciplines showcase the latest empirical investigations and theoretical advances that focus on communication at the end of life. This multi-contextual approach serves to integrate current findings, expand our theoretical understanding of the end of life, prioritize the significance of competent communication for scholars and practitioners, and provide a solid foundation upon which to build pragmatic interventions to assist individuals at the end of life as well as those who care for and grieve for those who are dying. This book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in Death and Dying, Communication and Aging, Health Communication, Life Span Development, Life Span Communication, Long term care, Palliative care and Social Work.

Jon F. Nussbaum (PhD Purdue) is a Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences and Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University.
Howard Giles (PhD, DSc. Bristol) is a Professor of Communication at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Amber Worthington (MA Penn State) is a Doctoral Candidate at Penn State University within the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences.

Contents: Maureen P. Keeley/Howard Giles/Jon F. Nussbaum: Communicating At, For, and About the End of Life ¿ Teresa Thompson: Health Communication and Death Studies ¿ Allison Whitney: Discourse «On or About» Dying: Palliative Care ¿ Jaber F. Gubrium: Benchmarking the End of Life in Long-Term Care ¿ Jillian A. Tullis: End-of-Life Communication and Spirituality. ¿ James D. Robinson: Mass Media Depictions of the Dying Process. ¿ Marcia K. Carteret: End-of-Life Communication in Cross-Cultural Patient Care ¿ Elissa Foster/Maureen P. Keeley: Conversations at the End of Life ¿ Loretta L. Pecchioni/Richard C. White: Family Decision Making and Care at the End of Life ¿ Kathleen A. Galvin: Family Communication as a Child Is Dying ¿ Nichole Egbert: Hospice Care and Communication ¿ Paige Toller: Bereavement and Post-Death Adjustments: A Lifespan Approach to Bereavement. ¿ Craig M. Klugman: Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Communication ¿ Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles/Joy Goldsmith/Sandra L. Ragan: Walking Through the Door.