Hospices as facilitators of memorialisation.

Hospices across the United Kingdom offer bereaved people opportunities to remember those who have died through free-writing in Memorial Books or by attendance at a Memorial Service. This paper demonstrates, through a study at 10 hospices across the United Kingdom the themes, content, timing and purpose and function of free-writing and the content, engagement, purpose and function of Memorial Services. The analysis of data collected from both sources illustrates processes of memorialisation which are at the same time unique and collective, private and public. In addition, the analysis indicates that recent models of grief theory are seen in both free-writing and through attendee's behaviour at a Memorial Service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]