Secondly, the book's more obvious use would be as a companion volume, given to complement the pastoral care of persons who are in fact dealing with the death of their spouse. It is in this second application that my own theological and pastoral care preferences cause me to offer a very specific critique and suggestion. The critique has to do with Robert DeVries's statements of theodicy and his theology of death as they appear in his portions of the work. In contrast to his consistently helpful foci on issues such as both trusting in and challenging and wrestling with God in the middle of grief, I find his attempts at theodicy and his theological statements about death to be inconsistent at least, and confusing at most. Death is not the way it's supposed to be.
Death is unnatural.
It is not really God's fault, nor yours, nor that of your spouse. Death is the devil's calling card. This is on God's schedule. God sets his own schedule for life and death. God doesn't want people to die any more than we do.