The Death Class: A True Story About Life (38 page)

parents’ volatile relationship and,
38
,
40
,
44
,
167
,
173

skeleton key collection of,
38
,
40
,
192

suspicions over Josh’s mental health of,

cancer,
94
,
112
,
122
,
123
,
155

capital punishment,
106
,
107
,
108

Carl (prison inmate),
111
,
112
,
113
–21,
223

Buddhism of,
114
,
119
,
120
–21

murder committed by,
111
,
118
–19

self-improvement efforts of,
113
–14,
116
,
119
,
121
,
127

caskets,
139
–40

Catholics, Catholicism,
19
,
22

cemeteries,
5
–8,
22
,
94
,
222
–24

class field trips to,
6
–8,
13
,
228

Norma’s fondness for,
5
–6,
223

Chang, Candy,
213

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Storm Relief Emergency Assistance,
198
–99

Cheyne, John,
10

Cheyne-Stokes respiration,
9
–10

child abuse,
27
–28,
157
,
158
,
211

Norma’s experience with,
29
–30,
32
,
94
,
95

sexual,
117
,
121

verbal,
27
,
29
,
95

childhood, Erikson’s stages in,
25
–28,
234
–35

Cho, Seung-Hui,
xv
,
xvi
,
206
,
208

Clementi, Tyler,
212

cocaine,
100
,
154

comas,
11
,
39

Cook, Dane,
167

Countdown with Keith Olbermann,
198
–99

Couture-Nowak, Jocelyne “Madame Couture,” xvi-xvii,
202
,
204
–8

funeral of,
xvi
-xvii,
200
,
208

memorial garden in honor of,
204
,
207
,
225

Crabiel Parkwest Funeral Chapel,
88

crack,
150
,
154

cremation,
7
,
141
,
228

crisis,
25
,
26

cyanosis,
8

Daily Kos,
198
,
199

death,
30
,
31
,
186

afterlife question and,
12
–13

body’s appearance after,
10
–11

Erikson’s final life stage before,
121
–22,
126
,
223

fear of,
13
,
31
,
37
,
121
,
134
,
136
,
218
,
223

final stages of,
8
–10,
89

Norma’s witnessing of,
82
,
94
,
122
,
126
–27

out-of-body experiences and,
11
–12

see also
near-death experiences

death education,
xvii
-xviii

profiles of students enrolling in,
14
–15,
148

Death in Perspective class,
xviii
,
12
–15,
16
,
20
,
24
,
37
,
78
,
91
,
148
–49,
170
,
183
,
199
–200,
225
,
228

autopsy field trips of,
13
–14,
36
,
44
–45,
85

Be the Change group and,
see
Be the Change group

biology of dying lecture in,
8
–11,
89

cemetery field trips of,
6
–8,
13
,
228

class discussion questions in,
59
,
169
,
184
,
214

Erikson’s stage theory taught in,
25
–28,
74
–75,
86
,
121
–22,
200
,
223

final exam essay question in,
203

funeral home field trips of,
130
,
139
–40

“funeral instructions” discussion in,
169

“good-bye letter” assignment in,
xxi
,
xxii
,
3
,
38
,
39
,
76
,
98
,
105
,
127
–29,
145
,
214

hospice field trip of,
77
,
86
–87

Jonathan’s sharing of life story in,
162
–64,
166
,
170

love lectures in,
47
–48

popularity of,
xviii
,
97
,
228

prison field trip of,
106
,
107
–13,
114
,
127
,
170
–71

prison version of,
115
–16

psychiatric hospital field trips of,
171
–72

students’ reasons for enrolling in,
148

syllabus and assigned reading in,
xx
-xxi,
3
,
115
,
228

writing assignments in,
xxi
,
xxii
,
3
,
17
,
36
,
38
–39,
42
,
49
,
76
,
77
,
96
,
98
,
105
,
106
,
115
,
127
–29,
130
,
145
,
146
,
161
,
165
,
176
,
188
–89,
214
,
218

death penalty,
106
,
107
,
108

Deepwater Horizon,
199

delusions,
57
–58,
65
,
67
–70,
71
,
72
–73,
163

Denial of Death, The
(Becker),
13

depression,
66
,
70
,
164
,
178

domestic violence,
xii
-xiii,
30
,
31
,
40
,
99
,
116
,
149
,
154
,
156
,
227

see also
child abuse

dopamine,
48

Douglass, Frederick,
111

drugs,
103
,
154
–55,
157
,
211
,
216
,
227

addiction to,
36
,
38
,
39
,
40
,
45
,
75
,
76
,
78
,
138
,
150
,
156
,
159

dealing of,
100
,
101
,
103
,
108
,
154
,
225

Dulong, Francine,
208

earthquakes,
197
–98,
199
,
221

East Jersey State Prison,
55

eating disorders,
41

ecstasy,
154

Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women,
178
–79

Education Department, U.S.,
211

Egypt,
89
,
159

embalming rooms, embalmers,
140
,
141

Erikson, Erik,
24
–25,
88
,
92
,
95
,
170

stage theory of,
25
–28,
74
–75,
86
,
88
,
95
,
121
–22,
126
,
200
,
209
,
223
,
234
–35

“eulogy” assignment,
96
,
115

euphoria,
10
,
47

Facebook,
42
,
47
,
173
,
183
,
187
,
214
,
220
–21

Father Hudson House,
77
,
86
–88

Fiji,
xii
,
215
,
216

financial crisis of 2008,
xviii
,
147
–48,
149

“Fire Story” assignment,
17

Florida,
23
,
93
,
116
–17

Freud, Anna,
25

funeral directors,
115
,
140
–41,
169

funeral homes,
6
,
130
,
140
–41,
145

class field trips to,
139
–40

funerals,
14
,
88
–91

of Josh Steingraber,
139
,
140
–41,
145
,
151
,
162

of Madame Couture,
xvi
-xvii,
200
,
208

Gandhi, Mohandas,
88

Gandhi’s Truth
(Erikson),
88

gangs,
97
,
98
,
100
–105,
107
,
110
,
127
,
128
,
160
,
216

Garden of Rest cemetery,
222
–24

generativity,
86
,
88
,
121
,
200
,
209
,
234
–35

Gibran, Khalil,
16

“good-bye letter” assignment,
xxi
,
38
,
39
,
76

author’s response to,
xxii
,
3
,
214

Israel’s response to,
98
,
105
,
127
–29

Jonathan’s response to,
145

Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital,
172

Grief: A Peril in Infancy,
27

Griminger, Olga,
89

Griminger, Paul,
88
–90

Gulf Coast road trips,
200
,
208
,
226

Haiti earthquake (2010),
197
–98,
199

hallucinations,
65

Harvard University,
25
,
63

Hayflich, Celia W.,
222

heroin,
150
,
154

Highland Park, N.J.,
18
,
89
,
154
,
159
,
221

Homburger, Theodor,
24
,
25

homeless, homelessness,
15

clothing and blanket drives for,
174
–75,
177
,
183
,
212

mental illness and,
65
,
163
,
172
,
174

“Operation PB&J” and,
212
–13,
226

homeless shelters,
149
,
153
,
156
,
157
,
159
,
163
,
174
,
177
,
183
,
211

see also
Isaiah House

hospice care centers,
6
,
77
,
86
–88,
94
,
115
,
124
–25

class makeover of,
87
–88,
150

How We Die
(Nuland),
10
–11

Huffington Post,
The,
20,
198

India,
153
,
199

invisibility, desire for,
28
,
92
,
95

Irene, Hurricane,
221

Isaiah House,
149
–54,
158
–60,
183
,
201
,
209
,
211
,
212
,
213

Be the Change makeover of,
150
–52,
153
,
159

Isis (homeless teen),
153
–60,
183
,
213
,
223

abuse suffered by,
157
,
158
,
159
,
211

at Isaiah House,
153
–54,
158
–60

Norma’s mentoring of,
159
–60

on trip to Virginia Tech,
209
–10,
211

troubled childhood of,
154
–56,
159
,
211

Israel (Kean student),
97
–105,
116
,
129
,
151
,
152
,
223
,
227

body-builder frame of,
97
,
98
,
100
,
159

criminal background and gang affiliations of,
97
,
98
,
99
–104,
108
,
127
,
129
,
159
–60,
211

“good-bye letter” of,
98
,
105
,
127
–29

murder nearly committed by,
102
–3,
129

on prison field trip,
108
,
109
,
110
–11,
112
,
127

shame of,
97
,
105
,
108

on trip to Virginia Tech,
209
–10,
211
–12

Jason (gang victim),
127
–29

Jenkins, Rica,
225

Jews, Judaism,
19
,
22
,
24
,
93
,
222