title: Selective disclosure in a first conversation about a family death in James Agee's novel A Death in the Family.
abstract: The first conversation of a family about a family death is a neglected but potentially important topic. In a first conversation in James Agee's (1957/ 2006) novel A Death in the Family, the member who knows the most about the accidental death of another member discloses information selectively. The first conversation in Agee's novel suggests that communication and caring in the first family conversation about a death is attuned to family member emotions, particularly those of the family member considered most vulnerable, and that the aim is not a shared narrative that is true, but one that people can live with.
authors: Institute for Family and Sexuality Studies & Context, University Psychiatric Center, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. peter.rober@med.kuleuven.be
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Rober
authors: Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
authors: Paul C
authors: PC
authors: Rosenblatt
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003643:Death; D030881:Disclosure; D004644:Emotions; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008093:Literature, Modern; D008297:Male; D008513:Medicine in Literature; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research