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Professor of Sociology, Drake University

Nancy Berns is the author of Closure: The Rush to End Grief and What It Costs Us, and professor of sociology at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she teaches classes on grief, death, emotions, violence, and justice. Her current research explores how people live with grief and joy after loss. Nancy’s TEDx talk, Beyond Closure, inspires people to carry grief and joy together. She speaks on the topic of grief, loss, and joy for regional and national conferences. Her work attracts a national and international audience including interviews such as those with The Boston Globe, The Guardian, Huffington Post Live, U.S. News & World Report, and CBS News.

Webpage: www.nancyberns.com

Experience

  • 2000–present
    Professor of Sociology, Drake University

Publications

  • 2011
    Closure: The Rush to End Grief and What It Costs Us, Temple University Press
  • 2004
    Framing the Victim: Domestic Violence, Media, and Social Problems, Aldine de Gruyter