Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER)

The international bestseller: an emotionally searing account of death, dying and medicine, from a member of President-elect Biden's new Covid-19 taskforce

'GAWANDE'S MOST POWERFUL, AND MOVING, BOOK' MALCOLM GLADWELL

'BEING MORTAL IS NOT ONLY WISE AND DEEPLY MOVING; IT IS AN ESSENTIAL AND INSIGHTFUL BOOK FOR OUR TIMES' OLIVER SACKS

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal. So here is a book about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do.

Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end.

Review

An impassioned, broad-ranging and deeply personal exploration ― Guardian

Dr Gawande writes very well, his book Is deeply humane and I learnt much from it -- Theodor Dalrymple ― Times Published On: 2014-10-18

In this eloquent, moving book Atul Gawande ... explains how and why modern medicine has turned the end of life into something so horrible ... Many passages in "Being Mortal" will bring a lump to the throat, but Dr Gawande also visits places offering a better way to manage life's end ― Economist Published On: 2014-10-04

It is rare to read a book that sparks so much hard thinking. In my case, it has opened to door to discussions with close relatives about how they wish to spend their final days - conversations that we should surely all be having, however difficult they are to start -- Linda Geddes ― New Scientist Published On: 2014-10-09

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Profile Books Ltd; Main edition (1 July 2015)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 296 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1846685826

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1846685828

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 1.7 x 20.96 cm

Customer reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars    46,007 ratings