Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: New Nonfiction: Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

After the publication of Lost Horizon in 1933, "Shangri-La" came to mean any remote, unspoiled place. Small wonder, then, that an inaccessible valley high the central mountains of New Guineau was dubbed "Shangri-La" when it was first discovered by the outside world during World War II. It quickly became a flyover tourist attraction, at least until one plane crash-landed in this not-so-idyllic Eden. Lost in Shangri-La tells the true story of the survivors of this plane crash and how they managed to return home. Click here for Bookpage's interview with author Mitchell Zuckoff about this exciting new publication. For more suggestions on real-life adventure stories, click here to see a booklist compiled by Mastics-Moriches-Shirley librarian Carolyn P.

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

New Nonfiction: Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

No comments:

Post a Comment