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Soul Pain: The Meaning of Suffering in Later Life
Helen K. Black
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Society and Aging Series, Jon Hendricks, Series Editor
You can read the
Preface for free right now, just click here.
IN PRAISE OF
"Practitioners in multiple fields, such as nursing, medicine, social work, and those with pastoral ministries, should be grateful to find a topic, often encountered in their professional practice, openly explored in a way which honors the uniqueness of each experience. Although suffering has been experienced as being about brokenness, the book leaves us with the knowledge that there was also a 'strong theme of hope' in the respondents' stories, 'to be reconnected, after brokenness, with self, others, and God, and ultimately to remain oneself'(p.190). Those of us who approach old age, and those of us who live among elders, need to acknowledge both the brokenness and the hope. This is a sensitive and moving book which will help us do just that."
—Elizabeth Barnett, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, Ageing & Society, Volume 26, 2006
"In a time where gerontologic research breaks new barriers each day in extending the
health of our aging population, this book shines a bright light on a more difficult and
not easily 'fixed' topic. Within that context, the author uses a unique approach in reporting
the elderly participants' use of multiple activities to alleviate or prevent suffering.
I recommend this book to qualitative nurse researchers, advanced practice nurses and
social scientists in gerontology. It reinforces the multidimensionality of suffering in
aging and gives thought to the use of this knowledge in the care of older adults."
—Cheryl Ann Monturo, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, and West
Chester University College of Health Sciences, West Chester, PA, USA., Nursing Ethics 2009 16 (4) ©
ABOUT THE BOOK
This book explores the multifaceted experience of suffering in old age. Older adults suffer
from a variety of causes such as illness, loss, and life disappointment, to name a few.
Suffering also occurs due to experiences related to one's gender, ethnic background, and
religion. Although gerontological literature has equated suffering with depression, grief,
pain and sadness, elders themselves distinguished suffering from these concepts and at the
same time showed how they are linked. Narratives of suffering from community-dwelling elders are interpreted in this book, along with the personal meaning of suffering that lies within each narrative.
Through individual cases offered in each chapter, the book shows how elders assimilate the
emotional and spiritual fractiousness of suffering into a life already laboring under the
'work' of old age, and at a stage in life when personal resources are lessened and time
seems to be running out.
During interviews, elderly respondents expressed their suffering non-verbally as well as
with words. Their languages of suffering, such as silence, gestures, cries and stories,
and their definitions, portraits, and theories about suffering were varied and unique.
They viewed suffering as eminently human and part of the life course as well as a political
outrage that thrives in "isms" that continue to exist-ageism, classism, racism, and sexism.
Elders' definitions of suffering as well as their perception of its value emerged from the
uniqueness of their lives as well as the profundity of their experiences.
Intended Audience: Qualitative researchers, students of qualitative research,
case study research, and alternative research methods. Social scientists interested
in aging studies and narrative studies. Gerontologists and students of gerontology.
Nurses, pastoral counselors, and pain management therapists. Those interested in
religious and spiritual aspects of aging studies and/or narrative studies.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Helen K. Black is a gerontologist and religious studies scholar in the
Community Homecare & Research Division of Thomas Jefferson University. Her research
includes a narrative exploration of women and poverty, forgiveness at the end of life,
and the cultural construction of dying and death. Her current research examines the
phenomenology of suffering in old age.
Her work has appeared as chapters in edited volumes, and as articles in aging,
narrative, and religious studies journals. She is the co-author of Old Souls:
Aged Women, Poverty, and the Experience of God.
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