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sujata's review
5.0
Really excellent and while similar to Kalanathi’s When Breath Becomes Air and Gawande’s Being Mortal in both perspective and author backgrounds, also quite different. Whether you are just curious or ready to think about theses questions for your self and your loved ones, a worthwhile book. I truly hope that Palliative Care as a specialty in all medical schools
readsweattravel's review
5.0
Absolutely phenomenal. I had no interest in the field of palliative care before seeing a YouTube series which featured Puri, but after seeing her calm and spiritual presence in the most trying times of her patients' lives, I immediately ordered it on Amazon.
Her voice comes through clearly, without seeming self-centred. The autobiographical format gave me an inner view into her doubts, struggles and triumphs as a first-generation American and physician as well as telling her patients' stories and trailblazing in a new (but necessary) field of medicine.
Amazing read, prompted me to talk to my family over Christmas about their end-of-life wishes.
Her voice comes through clearly, without seeming self-centred. The autobiographical format gave me an inner view into her doubts, struggles and triumphs as a first-generation American and physician as well as telling her patients' stories and trailblazing in a new (but necessary) field of medicine.
Amazing read, prompted me to talk to my family over Christmas about their end-of-life wishes.
mprasad1963's review
5.0
Another book that makes me think about my goals of care and what would be most important to me towards the end of my life. This book will appeal to all - not just the clinicians.
in2reading's review
5.0
An insightful memoir about the training of a palliative care physician plus a helpful meditation on both life and death. Dr. Puri is a wonderful writer. I appreciated her thoughts about how the recognition that we will all die can serve to make us appreciate our life even more, as well as her thoughts about what can make the end of life more peaceful for the dying and those that love them. Highly recommended.
poodlydoo72's review
4.0
4.5
An honest look into the field of palliative care, a specialty often not understood or valued.
An honest look into the field of palliative care, a specialty often not understood or valued.
emmylou52's review
3.0
Having read Being Mortal a while back, and having taken a class on grief, loss and death in grad school, this memoir didn’t bring a ton of new ideas to the table for me, though I still enjoyed it. It was a good reminder of the importance of having conversations with loved ones about their end of life wishes before a tragedy strikes or before it is too late to ask. If I were to recommend one book on end of life care, though, I would still probably pick Being Mortal.
givnuapeacesign's review
5.0
It took me a while to select this book from my mountain of books waiting to be read. Having lost both my parents and my father in law, I wasn’t sure I wanted to follow the recommendation that I read Dr. Puri’s book regarding the compassionate process of palliative medicine. After all, I’ve helped make those decisions three times, and I remember those emotions. I wish I had had the opportunity to learn Dr. Puri’s lessons before any of my loved ones fell critically ill. Although my parents clearly had their advance directives clearly in order, when that time comes, you are never ever ready. This book detailed several of Dr. Puri’s patients and their families’ processing of end of life decisions. Dignity, denial, fear, responsibility, resignation, pain... each case is different. Each family dynamic is unique. This book is a testament to compassion, faith, communication, and honesty. It opened my eyes to palliative medical practices, as well as how death can be many things to the individual. Highly recommend.
karjojo03's review against another edition
5.0
Powerful
I truly believe that everyone would benefit from reading this book. Dr. Puri shares her journey and in turn shapes her reader's journey. I've always been someone who has had these hard conversations, but her book opened my eyes to a few ideas I had never considered. This also was a great book to explore family, hard situations and ultimately how you want to shape your own life. Put down that self-help book because I believe Dr. Puri's book about the end of life is more helpful in finding and accomplishing how one might live than books dedicated to such topics. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
I truly believe that everyone would benefit from reading this book. Dr. Puri shares her journey and in turn shapes her reader's journey. I've always been someone who has had these hard conversations, but her book opened my eyes to a few ideas I had never considered. This also was a great book to explore family, hard situations and ultimately how you want to shape your own life. Put down that self-help book because I believe Dr. Puri's book about the end of life is more helpful in finding and accomplishing how one might live than books dedicated to such topics. Do yourself a favor and read this book.
sgrewal's review
4.0
People don’t often talk about palliative care and it’s certainly not an area of medicine that you hear a lot of South Asian practitioners going into. The author’s experiences in such a field, however, were well appreciated (and timely) as it’s very possible that I might need palliative care sometime in the future. I appreciated the author’s honesty in balancing her family’s immense spiritual background and her own medical training. I also appreciated the candor with which she spoke of in regards to her patients’ last days before dying. Again, for someone who is likely going to die in the next few years, it was comforting to know how others grappled with their mortality before eventually accepting their ultimate demise.