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A review by inherbooks
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
4.0
“Modern scientific capability has profoundly altered the course of human life. People live longer and better than at any other time in history. But scientific advances have turned the processes of aging and dying into medical experiences, matters to be managed by healthcare professionals. And we in the medical world have proved alarmingly unprepared for it.”
This is my first non-fiction read of the month, and if you enjoyed reading “When Breath Becomes Air”, you’ll definitely enjoy this. “Being Mortal” is written by a surgeon, Atul Gawande, wherein he takes apart the system’s limitations in the past and present and provides alternate frameworks to manage the process of dying. He delivers this book in a way that is informative and offers a perspective from the inside looking in as a surgeon and the outside as his father battles cancer in his old age. Even for someone who isn’t in healthcare, this is a necessary read – mainly because these are conversations we don’t have, but need to. We’re encouraged to plan for adulthood, save up for that house, this car, the kids, education etc. but how often do we talk about what comes after? How do we plan for old age?
The most interesting historical information for me were the use of poorhouses. These were the only option for elderly that didn’t have children to take care of them or money to keep living off of. The thing is, poorhouses were for not just the elderly, but immigrants, alcoholics, those with mental illnesses and residents were put to work, similar to the way inmates in jail work. They’d be given jobs to do in the worst, unhygienic conditions, and more often than not died shortly after arriving. While these might not exist in the States now, there are third-world countries that still have them. It’s crazy to read about something that feels so barbaric existed not that long ago.
Atul’s writing simplifies concepts that might otherwise be complicated, and the sequence of information builds on the knowledge and answers every why, how, when, where you might have.
This is my first non-fiction read of the month, and if you enjoyed reading “When Breath Becomes Air”, you’ll definitely enjoy this. “Being Mortal” is written by a surgeon, Atul Gawande, wherein he takes apart the system’s limitations in the past and present and provides alternate frameworks to manage the process of dying. He delivers this book in a way that is informative and offers a perspective from the inside looking in as a surgeon and the outside as his father battles cancer in his old age. Even for someone who isn’t in healthcare, this is a necessary read – mainly because these are conversations we don’t have, but need to. We’re encouraged to plan for adulthood, save up for that house, this car, the kids, education etc. but how often do we talk about what comes after? How do we plan for old age?
The most interesting historical information for me were the use of poorhouses. These were the only option for elderly that didn’t have children to take care of them or money to keep living off of. The thing is, poorhouses were for not just the elderly, but immigrants, alcoholics, those with mental illnesses and residents were put to work, similar to the way inmates in jail work. They’d be given jobs to do in the worst, unhygienic conditions, and more often than not died shortly after arriving. While these might not exist in the States now, there are third-world countries that still have them. It’s crazy to read about something that feels so barbaric existed not that long ago.
Atul’s writing simplifies concepts that might otherwise be complicated, and the sequence of information builds on the knowledge and answers every why, how, when, where you might have.