Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Understanding adolescent death -- Unexpected death -- Accidental death -- Automobile-related death -- Death defying games -- Risky behaviors leading to death -- Unsafe environments that cause death -- Illness leading to death -- Types of terminal illness that affect teenagers -- The psychodynamic of a terminal illness -- Effect of terminal illness on families and teenagers -- Homicide and suicide -- Teenage homicides -- Responses to teen homicide -- Teenage suicides -- Stages of grief -- Classical stages or patterns of grief -- Common behaviors and responses of adolescent grief -- Warning signs and symptoms of adolescent grief -- Complicated grief -- Anticipatory grief -- Understanding how theology informs the issue of death -- Theology of death -- Physical death is inevitable and universal -- Death is the passageway into eternity -- Death is an event to build the faith of those who grieve -- Death is an opportunity to understand and share in Christ's suffering -- Ways to approach death -- Questions that demand theological consideration -- Why does God allow tragedy, death, and suffering? -- Is the dead person in heaven? -- Should we remove life support? -- Is cremation biblically acceptable? -- Scripture passages to consider -- Practical action to take when death affects a youth group -- Practical help for youth workers -- Helping a family -- Immediate response -- Helping a terminally ill teenager face death -- What's it going to be like before death comes? -- Planning a funeral, memorial, or committal service -- Sample ceremonies -- Helping surviving teenagers -- Helping a grieving teenager -- Debriefing a youth group -- Positive ways to express grief -- Common mistakes youth workers make -- Debriefing a volunteer staff -- Miscellaneous tips -- Dealing with personal grief -- Resources on teenagers and death.