Tim G said...
Being Mortal is an excellent book (as are Gawande's other books). If you are a ruminant like me, there is much to chew on.
It was a very powerful and actionable book. One that makes you say afterward, "I'm glad I read that."
I was very saddened about
a year ago when someone I was acquainted with was caring for her father with later-stage prostate cancer. I told her about
the book and strongly encouraged her to read it, but she was too busy denying that his life was going to end (and thereby denying him of some of the benefits Dr. Gawande discusses when one squarely faces end-of-life), and she never picked it up. Predictably, his life ended months later, and she and he never really addressed the steps which help contribute to having "a good death." I even tried to relate my own personal experiences to her about
losing my wife to cancer and being led constructively down a path by her oncologist to a path similarly described by Gawande...but to no avail. I was saddened when I couldn't convince the acquaintance to get the book...if you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about
.