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A review by fictional_existence
Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life by Louise Aronson
3.0
There was enough in this book that was interesting and revelatory that I finished it, even though it was a slog in many places. I enjoyed the stories of former patients, and when she talked of specifics of incorrect care for the elderly. However much of the book was repetitive, not in "reinforcing the theme" kind of way, but as if she were newly pissed off about the thing and needed to rant again. In fact, much of the book is diatribe of things only tangentially related to elder care, like a long section bemoaning electronic health records. In fact, shortly after that, she discusses her own burnout -- which occurred only a few years (2015) before the book was published. This book reads like it was her therapy-- her way out of burnout. It is a screed against everything about medicine that bothers her.
For example, she discusses her brief tenure as head of an elder care acute care wing of the hospital. She doesn't stay because it is set up all wrong. I wish she had taken the opportunity to talk about what such units look like when they're set up right. I'd think a book on elder care would spend as much time talking about the folks that do things well as those that do them poorly, but that doesn't fit with the antagonistic view of this book. In one place she spends a couple pages complaining about Mark Zuckerberg and his wife using their foundation to go after illness. She thinks it's all wrong and says the Gates foundation does it better-- but then gives no detail on what she sees as something that is working right.
All and all, the book meanders from one topic to the next, never quite sure what it wants to be. I'm glad the author was able to recover from her burnout. This book seems like it probably helped her. I just wish she'd have waited ten years or so, for the wounds to heal and for her to clarify her message. That's the book I wanted to read.
For example, she discusses her brief tenure as head of an elder care acute care wing of the hospital. She doesn't stay because it is set up all wrong. I wish she had taken the opportunity to talk about what such units look like when they're set up right. I'd think a book on elder care would spend as much time talking about the folks that do things well as those that do them poorly, but that doesn't fit with the antagonistic view of this book. In one place she spends a couple pages complaining about Mark Zuckerberg and his wife using their foundation to go after illness. She thinks it's all wrong and says the Gates foundation does it better-- but then gives no detail on what she sees as something that is working right.
All and all, the book meanders from one topic to the next, never quite sure what it wants to be. I'm glad the author was able to recover from her burnout. This book seems like it probably helped her. I just wish she'd have waited ten years or so, for the wounds to heal and for her to clarify her message. That's the book I wanted to read.