ABSTRACT
A helpful concept for the mourner and the caregiver is that of tasks of mourning. The mourner's awareness of these tasks of grief work can give a participative, action-oriented outlook of experience of grief as opposed to a perception of grief as being a phenomenon that is experienced in a passive manner. For the caregiver knowledge of these tasks of mourning provides a framework for outlining a significant portion of one's helping role. To communicate to the mourner that any and all relationships with the deceased are over is unwise. Memories that are precious, occasional dreams reflecting the significance of relationship, and living legacies are among the influences that give testimony to a different form of continued relationship. Instead, a healthy reconciliation to the death requires achievement of a new form of relationship firmly rooted in the context of memory. Clinical experience suggests that women find that working on this reconciliation need is difficult than it is for men.
