Introduction to the handbook

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the scope of the handbook. It opens by explaining the rationale behind the focus on illegal drug-related death (DRD) bereavement (not alcohol-related ones), describing why such a book is timely: The loss of a close person to death in general is known to be related to detrimental health and poor well-being; losing someone through DRD can be particularly impactful. Further, there is a worrying increase in some countries across the world, particularly during COVID-19. Consequently, many DRD-bereaved persons suffer a variety of complications and troublesome manifestations, including stigmatization and disenfranchised grief. Yet scientific knowledge remains sparse and scattered. The chapter indicates that a major aim of the handbook is to provide a consolidated “state of the art” source of information for consultation by those in research and applied capacities, as well as DRD-bereaved persons themselves. Definitions of key, relevant concepts are discussed and tabulated. After the presentation of the general aims of the handbook, its structure and scope of the various sections are described. Finally, the content of each individual chapter is introduced. It shows how DRD bereavement research embraces many traditions with the potential for diverse applications.