Book Review-The Memorial Rituals Book for Healing and Hope, by A M Putter/Susceptible to the Sacred: The Psychological Experience of Ritual, by B Shorter

Two books on the role of ritual as a therapeutic tool & the power of ritual applied to bereaved individuals are compared. Shorter’s book is a philosophical treatise on the psychological role of ritual that draws from a Jungian approach. Putter’s book is a hands-on approach that offers one-page descriptions of various rituals that could be therapeutic for bereaved persons. The power of ritual lies in the focus it gives to our transcending spiritual values, linking the person & the collective.