The Price of Love

This collection highlights Colin Murray Parkes' significant contributions to understanding grief and loss. The Price of Love offers valuable insights for professionals and students alike.

In The Price of Love, Colin Murray Parkes presents a comprehensive collection of papers that encapsulate the breadth of his influential career in the field of bereavement and loss. His work is pivotal in linking various aspects of human experience, particularly in understanding grief and the psychological processes that accompany significant life changes. Parkes, who has collaborated with notable figures such as John Bowlby, has made groundbreaking contributions to attachment theory and bereavement studies, particularly through the Harvard Bereavement Project and St Christopher's Hospice.

The book delves into two core psychological processes: grief, defined as the painful search for a lost attachment, and transition, which involves adapting one’s worldview to accommodate loss without losing the essence of what was meaningful. Parkes explains how navigating the tension between holding on to old assumptions and letting them go can lead to a more mature understanding of life. His insights are applicable not only to bereavement but also to a variety of life-altering events, including trauma, disasters, and even acts of war.

The Price of Love is an invaluable resource for professionals in psychology, psychiatry, and palliative care, as well as students and researchers studying the complexities of human emotion in the face of adversity. The carefully selected and annotated papers reflect Parkes' evolving thought process and offer a rich exploration of psychological and social causes, consequences, and interventions, all presented with his characteristic clarity and compassion.