Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: 19, 20, 22 Wives

In the new book Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon, Alice bares her soul in an anonymous survey for a marital happiness study, cataloging her stale marriage, unsatisfying job, and unfavorable prospects as she begins to question virtually every aspect of her life. Interestingly, two additional unrelated library books include numbers and the word "wife" in their titles: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff and The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan. Would-be authors take note: there seems to be room in the market for a book involving wives and the number 21.

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

19, 20, 22 Wives

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