Being Mortal Book Review
Modern medicine has been quite successful in uncovering the way the body functions and devising treatments and cures for many common ailments and injuries. Because of medicine, we as a society have come to live longer, safer lives. However, while medicine is well equipped to save lives, it is jarringly underprepared to talk about and care for death and aging.
As much as we focus on how to save lives and avoid death, we can never escape our mortality. While science and medicine has equipped us with an abundance of knowledge on the human body and disease, we know relatively little about death and dying. To face the end of life is such a subjective, personal experience that can’t quite be unpackaged entirely through science. Thus, in his book Being Mortal, Dr. Atul Gawande beautifully intertwines research and patient and family stories to reveal the intricacies of the end of life and the intense conversations and considerations to be made by the individual and the network around them.
“Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm we inflict on people and denied them the basic comforts they most need.
Lacking a coherent view of how people might live successfully all the way to their very end, we have allowed our fates to be controlled by the imperatives of medicine, technology and strangers.”
Dr. Gawande attempts to tackle such a raw and complex topic through a myriad of stories, both in his interactions with his patients, his family, and with various healthcare professions. He draws on these anecdotes to present the multi-faceted nature of end-of-life care. From nursing homes, to family caregiving, and hospices, Dr. Gawande explores how the various facilities aim to tackle the issue of death and dying, leaving the reader to consider the pros and cons of each. Additionally, Being Mortal serves as a valuable introduction to palliative care and the difficult conversations that must be had when caring for patients with chronic illnesses.
Being Mortal as a whole leans into questions of existentialism, autonomy, and quality of life, making it an incredibly eye-opening read for anyone and everyone, regardless of whether you are interested in pursuing healthcare or not. This book’s insight on death and dying can be extremely valuable because as human beings, we will inevitably be faced with death, dying, and aging in our own lives. While the topic in itself may seem dark and daunting, rest assured that Dr. Gawande’s narration of end-of-life care provides a healthy balance of existential dilemmas and optimism in how we provide care for the end of life.
For those of you interested, Dr. Gawande has also produced a documentary of the same name:
You can watch the full documentary here.
By Madison Estrella (she/her/hers) | HIH Co-Founder & Co-President
