Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
Recommended By: Wallace Lightsey
One of the best, and most inspiring, books that I have read recently is “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End,” by Atul Gawande, a surgeon and writer who practices medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. The book is a sad but beautiful exploration of aging and the difficult conversations and decisions that arise in end-of-life situations. Gawande is a masterful story teller, and he uses intimate vignettes of the experiences of relatives, patients, and friends approaching the end of their lives to address the question, How can we make our last days more comfortable, dignified, and meaningful? The book addresses a tough and uncomfortable topic, but does so with stories that are deeply moving.
