Being Mortal

About ten years ago, Dr. Atul Gawande published Being Mortal and it became a New York Times bestseller. A trained surgeon, Dr. Gawande was trained to target a specific problem and fix it. In this book, however, he uses a mix of facts and stories to reveal a truth we must all accept. The body and the mind break down.

Gawande skillfully captures the way people age and the ways we have supported older adults over time. More important, he issues a challenge. Over time, medicine, safety, and health standards have been given a supreme role in the care and support of older adults. Being Mortal warns against the over-medicalization of care for older people at the expense of finding what truly makes each adult's life worth living.

Being Mortal is not just a reflection on the ideal form of caring for older adults. It's a call to accept that we will all become frail, to plan for that inevitable stage of life, and to consider what a good life will look like for us at that time.

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