Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End in Around the Year in 52 Books

Oct 12, 2016 Maryam rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, non-fiction, health, medical

Modern scientific capability has profoundly altered the course of human life. People live longer and better than at any other time in history. But scientific advances have turned the process of aging and dying into medical experiences, matters to be managed by health care professionals. And we in the medical world have proved alarmingly unprepared for it.

It’s shocking how sometimes you’ve experienced a book already. My father died in a hospital bed without having any of us beside him. I’d visite ...more

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Aug 24, 2015 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: lwv-book-group, non-fiction

An excellent, thought-provoking and kind of scary read for those of us in the senior category. The scary part was the description of how aging impacts us. Gawande looks at end of life medicine and care. The history was very interesting. I had not realized that the reason my grandmothers ended up in nursing homes is because in the 60s and 70s there wasn't much in the way of other options when their care overwhelmed family resources. The author finds a compassionate and practical way of discussing ...more

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Mar 15, 2016 Shasta rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-time-favorites, non-fiction

Should be required reading for, well, just about everyone. I was afraid to read this book, afraid that I wasn't up to it, and that it would feel like an overwhelming emotional task. I recently lost two loved ones -- my grandfather, to old age and heart failure, and my godmother, to lung cancer and a stroke -- and I've been vacillating between wanting to look deeper into end-of-life issues, and wanting to run away from the pain. I am so glad I decided to read Being Mortal. Yes, it was sometimes p ...more

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Jan 19, 2015 Cat rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, national-book-award

Gawande does a great job of combining case histories, interviews, historical research and his personal experiences into a really interesting exploration of end-of-life care in the U.S. I know that I will be glad I read this book when it comes time for me to help my loved ones make these decisions, or make them myself.

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Jul 14, 2019 Joan rated it really liked it

A book about dying, on one's own terms. About the ways the medical profession has failed those who face terminal illness, and the ways some medical folks have begun to change that. An important book about an important subject! ...more

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