Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

15 reviews

mothstrand's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Vomit and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Excrement

applesaucecreachur's review

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

Some books come at just the right time, and this one is at an unfair advantage: To those living in the modern-day United States, this message will always be necessary.

I won't deny that, despite the litany of gathered stories and devoted editors and researchers that this book employed, the ultimate message still comes from the perspective of one male medical doctor. He offered allowances for capitalist structures including insurance systems in how he references the financial cost of medical care while dying.  The basis of this book refers to disability as an unfortunate reality to be overcome at best, and at worst, a fate worse than death; while the message is about the end of life, I interpreted this as not a message that disability is merely another facet of life.
 
Still, I believe that Dr. Gawande and his team's tireless work paid off in Being Mortal. Gawande calls out modern medicine and its practitioners for morphing death into a demon to be battled til the bitter end (and oftentimes, beyond), rather than as something to be accepted for the sake of the dying and their beloveds. While he offers guiding principles, everyone's experience with and therefore their discussions about death are different, and that is the point. Patients are people and they contain multitudes. Our love for our people must keep their humanness, and not their treatment regimen, at the forefront. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Medical trauma and Ableism

thewileyseven's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

Extraordinary and essential. Spiritually, a beginning to the conversations of how acceptance and commitment theory can be applied to end-of-life care. I am positive I will be referring to this book regularly throughout the rest of my life. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, and Suicide

ulviyyask's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Medical content, Death, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Cancer

maethereader's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a very important book. It was inspiring, hopeful, sad, challenging. I learned so much about aging and terminal illness, nursing homes and alternatives, healthcare, hospice, and dying. That might sound grim, but so much of it was so beautiful and inspiring. It was so enlightening. I feel so much better prepared to go through the process of accompanying a loved one who is dying and to die myself. I also feel really interested in learning more about options for aging people and hospice in my community. And I feel better prepared to advocate for myself and loved ones in medical situations, this was a huge insight into what is happening when healthcare workers aren't giving you straight answers (and I think this carries over into veterinary medicine as well - had similar experiences with two pets who ended up passing away, and the days and weeks of working with the vet hospitals did not have to be that stressful and confusing).

I really think this should be required reading for everyone with a body who will one day have to face their mortality and that of their loved ones.

I listened to the audiobook for the last 1/3 of it, and I thought the narrator did a good job.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Cancer, and Death

Moderate: Grief

vivj's review

informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Cancer, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Medical content

xeniba's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was not always an easy read, but it was absolutely necessary. Gawande’s writing is clear and accessible and confirmed a lot of things I’d suspected about the experience of dying in America. I feel more prepared—and motivated—to discuss end-of-life care with my loved ones. I think most people (specifically Americans) could likely benefit from reading this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Death of parent, Death, and Medical content

laurenkimoto's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Warning: do not listen to this audiobook while driving you will tear up 

I found this to be a seamless blend of Dr. Gawande’s personal and professional experiences with end of life care for the elderly and terminally ill. The kindness and compassion shown is moving and makes you really think about how you would want to spend the last months of your life and what really matters to you. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Grief, Medical content, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Terminal illness

hayleyvem's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Drug use

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Addiction, Car accident, and Suicide attempt

norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Body horror, Blood, Cancer, Death, Excrement, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Death of parent, Dementia, and Grief