Breaking Open the Bone: Mad Grief and Re-membering Through Youth-Centered Grief and Death Education and Support
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Authors
Borean, Brittany
Issue Date
2025-10-03
Type
Capstone
Language
en
Keywords
grief , youth , mad grief , re-membering practices , dominant discourses
Alternative Title
Abstract
Critically exploring the cultural, social, and political dimensions of death and grief, this capstone paper focuses on youth experiences and the transformative potential of a grief support and death education curriculum. Beginning with an examination of the language used to describe grief and death, the paper interrogates the myths that shape individual experiences of death and loss. Drawing on critical theory, the paper then analyzes how sanism and capitalism shape dominant discourses, pathologizing grief experiences and reinforcing the expectation of productivity in the face of profound loss. Centering youth experiences and voices, the paper explores how grief can appear in young people, and how they are often underserved and silenced within existing support structures. A review of the current landscapes of grief support and death education reveals promising practices and significant gaps. To address these, this paper advocates for the integration of Mad Grief and Re-membering practices, resistance-based, relational, and narrative approaches that value and validate emotions, and reclaim collective mourning. These practices are presented as foundational to building a grief-informed and death-affirming culture that fosters connection, agency, and solidarity among grieving youth, ultimately serving as hope for a changed future. The final chapter presents an overview of a 10-week grief support and death education curriculum rooted in the resistance practices of Mad Grief and Re-membering, designed to be co-created with grieving youth. Ultimately, this paper envisions a reimagined approach to grief support and death education that centers the voices of youth, challenges dominant discourses, and co-creates a compassionate and inclusive future.