Next Avenue, the national news and community destination for older Americans that’s part of the PBS system, today named Pauline Boss, author, educator and researcher in Family Social Science, one of its 2021 “Influencers in Aging:” 12 innovators driving change in how Americans approach getting older. Boss is recognized worldwide for developing the theory of “ambiguous loss” and the study of family stress management, concepts she examined through the prism of the pandemic in her newest book.
“What Pauline Boss has done for so many caregivers, myself included, is given them the language to understand the unique grief that is experienced by those of us who have lost someone to dementia,” said Kathy Ritchie, the Senior Editor of the Health and Caregiving channels for Next Avenue. “Every time we talk, I come away grateful because I am reminded that I am a human being who experienced something beyond devastating; there is no right way to grieve and no such thing as closure. Rather, she teaches us that we can live with sadness and still experience life’s joys.”
Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota, Boss is renowned as the pioneer researcher, educator and theorist of ambiguous loss, a concept she named in the 1970s to define the trauma of loss without physical or psychological resolution. For decades, she has been the go-to expert on ambiguous loss on national and global scales, including 9/11 in New York, the Malaysian Airline disappearance in 2014 and most recently, the global COVID-19 pandemic. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed scholarly articles and chapters and eight books, translated into 18 languages.
Her most recent book, The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change, is available for pre-order today by W. W. Norton.
More about Dr. Boss
Read Kathy Ritchie’s recent interview with Boss on the Next Avenue web site.
Learn more about Boss’ research on the Family Social Science site.
More about Influencers in Aging
Launched in 2015, Influencers in Aging annually recognizes remarkable people bringing solutions, innovation, inspiration and big thinking to the aging space. This year’s recipients – ranging in age from their 30s to 80s – includes health care professionals, advocates, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, educators and members of the creative community, from all across the country. Read more about all of this year’s honorees.
