Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Warfare and the Human Spirit: The Yellow Birds

Highlighted in Amazon’s “Best Books of the Month” and labelled by The New York Times as a "classic of contemporary fiction", The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers is a powerful novel of the Iraq War. At the age of 17, Powers joined the Army and served in Iraq during 2004 and 2005. Drawing on these experiences, The Yellow Birds tells the story of two young men trying to stay alive on the battlefield. Though it is a short novel, it is not an easy or light read as Powers delves into the futility of war and the nature of freedom and free will.

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

Warfare and the Human Spirit: The Yellow Birds

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