The death of a parent: Its impact on middle-aged sons and daughters

Coming to terms with finitude is the central task of mid-life. The death of a parent of middle-aged sons and daughters intensifies that crisis in three ways: being without a parent is like being a middle-aged orphan; the death of one or both parents may finally make autonomy possible; when the last parent dies, death seems closer because the buffer is gone. Pastoral theological implications of this thesis are explored.