Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: A Story of Friendship and Female Wisdom

As a single architect living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Joey has a life many women might envy. As the novel opens, Joey learns that she will travel to tEngland to oversee her dream project, the renovation of historic Stanway House where J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan. Once in England, life doesn’t seem as rosy. Although Joey reconnects with her oldest friens, she feels like an outsider. Out for a run one afternoon, Joey stumbles upon the J.M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society, a group of elderly women who swim in the lake, even in January. This chance encounter opens Joey’s world to new friendships that will change her life. Fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will especially enjoy Barbara Zitwer's debut novel!

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

A Story of Friendship and Female Wisdom

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