Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: The Yellow Birds Wins Hemingway/PEN Awards

Kevin Powers' The Yellow Birds has been awarded the Hemingway/PEN award! Awarded annually to an American author of a novel or short story collection who has not previously published a book of fiction, this prize is funded by the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. The Yellow Birds, which made many 2012 best of lists, tells the story of two soldiers in the Iraq War, bound together since basic training,who do everything to protect each other from both outside enemies and the internal struggles that come from constant danger. See what all the buzz is about. Check out a copy at your Community Library today!

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

The Yellow Birds Wins Hemingway/PEN Awards

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