Unresolved Grief and the Family Gamble

The family gamble is when a family makes a decision if there is actually a loss of a family member. An example of family gamble is making decisions to become emotional ready to part ways with a comatose family member. Is there a chance of recovery? If there is a recovery, what can of quality of life is he or she going to have? Should I make funeral plans (Boss 1999)?

A researcher describes a father who came down with Alzheimer’s disease at forty years of age. His youngest son was certain that he would contract Alzheimer’s disease at an earlier age too. Thoughts of what kind of life he would have, or the life his own family would have if he chose to marry and have children (Boss 1999). The compromise he has to think about is almost impossible to fathom. Should he take the family gamble and realize that there is nothing that he can do to change his father’s situation? Should he grieve now and continue to live out his life that it may be cut short too? For more see Unresolved Grief and The Family Gamble