Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog

Title: Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral

Genre: Adult Fiction

Author: Radishy, Kris

Rating: 5

Review: The book starts off with Katherine Givens doing her laundry and a comfortable Bali bra that has seen better days. The bra has been on many journeys with Katherine. While she is remembering where she has been with this wonderful bra, a UPS package is delivered and in it is a pair of red tennis sneakers filled with ashes and a note that will forever change her life along with others. Join Katherine and others on a journey of self-reflection and adventure.

Reviewed by: el

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Genre: Adult Non-Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

"Being Mortal is about the limitations of what modern medicine can provide for people as their lives draw to a close. Gawande argues that the objective of medicine should not merely be treatment and survival; medical care should also ensure dignity in death and having control over one's final moments. He argues that instead of aggressively fighting the inescapable realities of aging, we should ask the hard questions of ourselves and our loved ones -- What makes life worth living? When should we try to extend our lives, and when should we choose a better quality of our remaining days over extending their quantity?

This book is difficult to read. Not because of the way Gawande writes -- his style is highly engaging, and he never lapses into excessively scientific jargon or overly simplistic explanations -- but because of the tough subject matter. Gawande draws on his own experiences as a doctor and peppers his book with honest and humane stories of his patients, friends, and family; the stories he tells make the book more accessible, and also more heartbreaking. (And that's not a bad thing.)

No one likes to think about their loved ones', or their own, impending mortality. But it's important to have these hard conversations, because as Gawande says, "endings matter." - Amanda

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