Friday Books: Being Mortal

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (audio book)

This is a book about end of life issues and how our system of medicine delivery has addressed these issues, or failed to address them. It is really fascinating. The growth of hospice has been a big blessing in changing our patterns, but there is still much we need to alter to make a person's last months of life as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

My own mother died just two weeks ago, and we lived through many of the scenarios Gawande brings up in this book, such as assisted living no longer being an option, moving her to a nursing home, starting hospice care, and then her end of life. It was comforting to me to read this book and see that our mom's experience and ours as her survivors were pretty good when one looks at what could have been.

This book explores the attitudes of the health field and our society toward death and dying, and challenges us to think more carefully about how we care for one another. It's an excellent book for anyone from a random reader with curiosity about the topic to a health care professional wanting to improve services.. providing food for thought for all.

Maybe my Mom is in heaven with an endless supply of fabulous books (and her friends and loved ones who paved the way to heaven).