Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

21 reviews

maethereader's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a very important book. It was inspiring, hopeful, sad, challenging. I learned so much about aging and terminal illness, nursing homes and alternatives, healthcare, hospice, and dying. That might sound grim, but so much of it was so beautiful and inspiring. It was so enlightening. I feel so much better prepared to go through the process of accompanying a loved one who is dying and to die myself. I also feel really interested in learning more about options for aging people and hospice in my community. And I feel better prepared to advocate for myself and loved ones in medical situations, this was a huge insight into what is happening when healthcare workers aren't giving you straight answers (and I think this carries over into veterinary medicine as well - had similar experiences with two pets who ended up passing away, and the days and weeks of working with the vet hospitals did not have to be that stressful and confusing).

I really think this should be required reading for everyone with a body who will one day have to face their mortality and that of their loved ones.

I listened to the audiobook for the last 1/3 of it, and I thought the narrator did a good job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Cancer, and Death

Moderate: Grief

vivj's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Medical content

xeniba's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was not always an easy read, but it was absolutely necessary. Gawande’s writing is clear and accessible and confirmed a lot of things I’d suspected about the experience of dying in America. I feel more prepared—and motivated—to discuss end-of-life care with my loved ones. I think most people (specifically Americans) could likely benefit from reading this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Death, and Medical content

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Warning: do not listen to this audiobook while driving you will tear up 

I found this to be a seamless blend of Dr. Gawande’s personal and professional experiences with end of life care for the elderly and terminally ill. The kindness and compassion shown is moving and makes you really think about how you would want to spend the last months of your life and what really matters to you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, Medical content, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Terminal illness

hayleyvem's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Drug use

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Addiction, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Body horror, Blood, Cancer, Death, Excrement, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, Dementia, and Grief

gtrue21's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Abandonment, Ableism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Cancer, Death of parent, Dementia, Death, Confinement, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Forced institutionalization

sjanke2's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

jmcordero's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness

Minor: Abandonment, Ableism, Colonisation, and Forced institutionalization

kierscrivener's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

 This was an incredible book that is about geriatrics and dying, but focused most profoundly on how our approach of healthcare and medicine fails us by being focused on fixing instead of helping and how care for elderly, disabled and palliative patients undermine their dignity and wellness for the sake of efficiency. It raises a lot of questions around whether doing everything is the best option and how by ignoring the inevitability of death we rob the sick from what they want in their last days and their loved ones from proper conversations and closure. I highly recommend it to those who work in medicine and helping professions as well as anyone with aging family. But most of all to everyone as all of us will come to face mortality in both our own lives and those we love and this is a guide to conversations discussions that we often neglect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Child death, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Dementia, and Cancer