Table of Contents

Part I. The First World War: 1. Theatres of grief, theatres of loss; 2. The sacrificial mother; 3. A father's loss; 4. The war widow and the cost of memory; 5. Returned limbless soldiers: identity through loss; Part II. The Second World War: 6. Absence as loss on the homefront and the battlefront; 7. Grieving mothers; 8. A war widow's mourning.

Promotional Information

This book, first published in 1999, explores the experience of private loss and grief after the two world wars.

Reviews

' ... compelling ... The Labour of Loss offers a new perspective on the impact of twentieth-century warfare, because it engages seriously with the dimensions of grief and emotion experienced by soldiers and their families.' Kate Darian-Smith, The Times Literary Supplement 'This sensitive, though sometimes harrowing, study of the impact of war and the ensuring peace ... will surely have wide cross-disciplinary resonance.' The Times Higher Education Supplement ' ... deserves the highest praise. Without ever sacrificing a formidable theoretical power, [Damousi] never forgets that this is an intensely human story. It is one of the best, perhaps the best, book of its kind.' English Historical Review '... scholarly and humane ...'. Grief Matters