Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered people deal with issues of grief, loss, and bereavement in their lives. In our society unfortunately, members of this community find it much more difficult to address honestly and openly, those details and intimate emotions surrounding the death of a loved one. Fears of rejection, hostility, constant explanation and ignorance often make it impossible for a gay man or a lesbian, for example, to join a mixed group and openly share many details of their lives. Add to this the factor of the impact of AIDS onto those communities, and the potential for problems can escalate quickly.
This book reveals both personal stories and usable information on the reactions gay men have to grief. Through the use of anecdotes and timely analysis, one gets a more complete picture of the incredible passage gay men undergo in their grief journeys.
I currently am a grief counselor for The Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz and we have been involved in GLBT greif and bereavement since the early days of the AIDS epidemic. We are now offering to the LGBT Community a renewed outreach due to an increase in both AIDS deaths and deaths due to breast and ovarian cancers. A similar book needs to be written for the lesbian community.