dying

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

By Atul Gawande

Rated by Library Staff (not verified)
Apr 8, 2015

In short, this book is about dying. Yes it is sad, but also eye opening in showing how doctors are poorly equipped to deal effectively with the natural process of dying and the limits of medicine. Dr. Gawande is a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital who also teaches at Harvard Medical School. In this insightful and worthwhile book, Dr. Gawande wonderfully tackles the question of whether the objective of medicine should be pure survival at any cost, including more pain and suffering, or about the quality of life and what it means to die with dignity and control. Gawande examines the

Jun 15, 2012

We read books to help us parent well, to strengthen our marriage, to improve our careers and to manage our finances, but it seems off-putting to read a book to help us prepare for death.  But Lani Leary, author of No One Has To Die Alone: Preparing for a Meaningful Death, believes that how we die matters and how we serve our loved ones as they die matters most of all. The first part of the book focuses on how family and caregivers can make a difference through illness, dying and death. The second part addresses bereavement and includes a section on the special needs of grieving children.