`Turning toward death together': The functions of messages during final conversations in close relationships

The author explores final conversations from survivors' perspectives using a communication framework. Utilizing retrospective interviews, 55 people discussed their final conversations with a loved one who has since died. As a way to understand the survivors' end-of-life experiences, the author identified five types of messages that appear to be important for survivors and that satisfied numerous relational functions. The primary messages were love, identity, religion/spirituality, routine/everyday content, and difficult relationship issues. The functions that appear to be central to each of these messages (e.g., the confirmation of love, altering and bolstering of identity, validation of religious/spiritual beliefs, maintenance of the relationship, and stepping towards reconciliation) shed light on the value that each of the messages had for survivors.