Being Mortal - Orreadi

Paperback, 287 pages

English language

Published Sept. 22, 2017 by Picador.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-07622-9
OCLC Number:: 1005264011

(1 review)

Modern medicine has transformed the dangers of birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should do. Through eye-opening research and grip- ping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering produced by medicine's neglect of the wishes people might have beyond mere survival. To find out what those wishes are, we need to ask. We haven't been asking, but we can learn.

Riveting, honest, and humane, this remarkable book, which has already changed the national conversation on aging and death, shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life —all the way to the very end. --back cover

24 editions

Victor Villas reviewed Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Important and fruitful read

3 stars

This book encourages some crucial conversations and has greatly expanded my view of what it means to pursue health at the last stages of life. Most importantly, even though I'm surely still ill equipped emotionally, I've learned through account of other people's experiences what kinds of questions to ask.

The high relevancy and impact of this read make it worthwhile, but the book suffers from the non-fiction disease of the century: unnecessary long, repetitive, anecdotal and light on inputs from researchers in relevant fields. It might win over the most stubborn reader, but I had to speed through the middle sections of most chapters to ensure I'd have patience for the whole book.