How do we cope with death?

In my experience we all have our strategies in coping with death under a variety of circumstances including

• The loss of a close family member such as a child or a parent.
• The loss of a close friend.
• The loss of a work colleague.
• The loss of life in an accident, especially if we are the cause.

When my father died a number of years ago, I had this overwhelming sense that I wanted to communicate with him a last time as he approached the end of his life. He was 10,000km away and there was no prospect of a phone call never mind a visit. I recorded a message to him on a tape and couriered it to my mother; it arrived the day before he died. Those that played the tape to him said that in a period of lucidity he listened to the tape, recognised my voice and smiled.
If the tape had arrived late or my father couldn't listen to it I would have been upset. It was my way of dealing with my father's imminent death.