ABSTRACT
We have considered some different bereavements and the different factors which can affect a person's mourning. We have also looked at how denial functions to protect individuals from the initial impact of the loss, but how it can also prevent people from recognising the loss and doing the work of grief before eventually letting go. It is not just individuals who deny death but whole groups and even societies. By taking a historical perspective it is possible to begin to see how patterns of denial within anyone society change over time and also influence the present.
