Being Mortal

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

A neighbor gave me this book when my mother died and it took me a long time to read it. The topics it covers are the end of life, the medical response to terminal illness, and the needs of people facing their mortality. It was very hard for me to read about these things after spending 15 years watching my mother's health deteriorate and seeing her die from dementia. However, reading about the realities that we as humans face at the end of our lives, and how others have dealt well with dying, has been remarkably healing for me. I wish I had read this book a year ago so I would have had this information when I was living through my mother's final days. This book is not only useful to the terminally ill and their families, but can be helpful to anyone who wants to get a better understanding of the aging process and how it plays out for humans.