Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Coming Tomorrow: The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson

All who have ever despaired of teaching their life partners to pick up after themselves can relate to the premise of this new release from Christina Hopkinson (author of Cyber Cinderella and other stories). Mary, the heroine of The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs, loves her husband Joel and their sons, but she is extremely frustrated by Joel's failure to do his part around the house. Unknown to Joel, Mary starts a spreadsheet tallying Joel's domestic achievements (or their lack); if he fails to make the grade within six months, she is determined to divorce him. A humorous look at the trials of modern married life; reserve it today!

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

Coming Tomorrow: The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson

1 comment: