Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Forever Soul Ties

Christian fiction readers looking for a heartwarming contemporary story exploring one of morality's gray areas may want to try Forever Soul Ties, the forthcoming book by Vanessa Davis Griggs. When Butterfly runs into her high school sweetheart, what starts as innocent catching up on the years each has spent in unhappy marriages inexorably turns into adultery. Butterfly is found out and soon realizes she's being used as a pawn to bring down a new pastor--a young man who is upsetting tradition by preaching about real-life issues real people, like Butterfly, deal with. And as Butterfly faces a challenging search for truth, forgiveness, and the real meaning of love, she may finally break out of her cocoon.

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

Forever Soul Ties

1 comment: