Reviews

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

ergilkey's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

cassandra_t's review against another edition

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4.0

I find this book hard to rate, as it is such a depressing topic and similar to something you’d read for a university class, with essentially case studies of individuals and stories of people nearing the end. It delves into death being a long process. Of it involving many potential issues involving health, but also the decline of independence, changes of what matters to you, what assistance should mean, having the hard conversations leading up to it, and some suggestions towards better care near the end and some roadblocks that can come up. Overall, it was a fascinating read that really makes you think.

reading_is_my_hobby's review against another edition

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5.0

#beingmortal is a must read. Even though it’s filled with sad stories of people’s last days, and more knowledge about the history of retirement homes than you ever wanted to know. Because it made me think about values and how that should should not only guide how we live, but how we die, and allow others to meet their end. It also has some vital points about #MedEd and the need to better train doctors on how to treat death and the dying.

“We’ve been wrong about what our job is in medicine. We think our job is to ensure health and survival. But really it is larger than that. It is to enable well-being. And well-being is about the reasons one wishes to be alive. Those reasons matter not just at the end of life, or when debility comes, but all along the way. Whenever serious sickness or injury strikes and your body or mind breaks down, the vital questions are the same: What is your understanding of the situation and its potential outcomes? What are your fears and what are your hopes? What are the trade-offs you are willing to make and not willing to make? And what is the course of action that best serves this understanding?”

And so many other excellent quotes, for those interested: http://theconversationproject.org/…/ten-best-quotes-from-a…/

#52booksin52weeks #wellbeing #wellness

kaulhilo's review against another edition

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4.0

this might be the hardest book i’ve ever had to read, for medical reasons, but also for general, life reasons. i didn’t fully understand palliative care and geriatrics, or the evolution and devolution of nursing homes, or the brutality of medicine, before this book; so for that i’m glad to have read it, but my god, did it /have/ to trigger 30,000 anxiety attacks every 2 chapters.

avibrantmind's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

It got me thinking about conversations I may want to have now with loved ones, and how I would like to handle aging. It was the hard conversation that we all should consider learning to have so we are more prepared when it is time. 

kateburstein31's review

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5.0

This is an incredibly moving, powerful book about mortality and supporting our loved ones through terminal illness and/or aging, focusing on their wishes and not relying solely on the “best” medical treatment options without considering quality of life.

lirael's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective

3.5

sofiagzz's review against another edition

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5.0

*In Barbies Voice* Do you guys ever think about dying ?

luckylauren98's review against another edition

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informative reflective

4.0

jackiejackiejackiee's review against another edition

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hopeful informative inspiring reflective

5.0

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It makes me think of all the loved ones who passed before me and it makes me curious to have this discussion with my parents. Above all it makes me think about what I want when the time comes for me to make difficult decisions about my quality of life.