Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Local History Extravaganza

On Sunday, November 21st, we invite you to join us for our third annual Local History Extravaganza, Our Community, The Way It Was. Back by popular demand, Ken Spooner, songwriter, author, historian and Mastic Beach native will conduct a program based on his newly published book, The Knapps Lived Here.

Journey back in time and relive the history of our community through stories, slides, photos and music. A question and answer period will follow. Don’t miss this great Local History Extravaganza. Refreshments will be served.

A collage of Local History photographs will be available for viewing.
Open to all.

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

Local History Extravaganza

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