Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Sinister Side of Suburbia in Thy Neighbor

Why did Nick's father kill his mother and then himself? Deeply cynical 30-something unemployed writer and alcoholic Nick decides to investigate exactly what made his father come unhinged. Spying on his neighbors via hidden cameras and microphones, Nick begins to realize he himself is being stalked. As he delves further into his investigation, he begins to realize the shocking truth about how and why his parents died. At one unsettling and darkly humorous, Thy Neighbor is a spellbinding first novel from Norah Vincent.

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

Sinister Side of Suburbia in Thy Neighbor

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