Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End
Oct 2014 · Profile Books
4.6star
54 reviewsreport
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333
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About this ebook
AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4 'A GOOD READ'
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
'GAWANDE'S MOST POWERFUL, AND MOVING, BOOK' MALCOLM GLADWELL
'BEING MORTAL IS NOT ONLY WISE AND DEEPLY MOVING; IT IS AN ESSENTIAL AND INSIGHTFUL BOOK FOR OUR TIMES' OLIVER SACKS
For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do.
Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end.
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER
'GAWANDE'S MOST POWERFUL, AND MOVING, BOOK' MALCOLM GLADWELL
'BEING MORTAL IS NOT ONLY WISE AND DEEPLY MOVING; IT IS AN ESSENTIAL AND INSIGHTFUL BOOK FOR OUR TIMES' OLIVER SACKS
For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do.
Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end.
Ratings and reviews
4.6
54 reviews
JJ L
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December 1, 2019
A very necessary read, not only for potential health practitioners, but for people in general. It is important to have these sorts of discussions in our lives and this is one of the novels that at least gives some insight into what the unfortunate experiences will be like, and how to potentially manage them.
Jezebel Ho
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March 31, 2022
I read this book while my dad was at the end stages of his cancer. throught my dads sickness i wondered if i was doing the right thing and i was so pleased that i received confirmation from this book that I was probably doing the right things. my dad passes in his hed with his 3 kids ons his bed and i was holding his hand.
louis hebrard
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January 7, 2020
Easy read of the traditional problem solving role of medicine, contrasted with a potential for greater focus on improving the quality of life particularly in the twilight times.
About the author
Atul Gawande is a surgeon, writer and public health researcher. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He is also Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. He writes regularly for the New Yorker, and is the author of Better (9781861976574), Complications (9781846681325) and The Checklist Manifesto (9781846683145). In 2021, Atul Gawande was selected as a member of Joe Biden's twelve-person Covid-19 task force.
Published in partnership with Wellcome Collection.
wellcomecollection.org
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