Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Book-to-Movie Alert: In the Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

This March, Ron Howard brings Nathaniel Philbrick's true life adventure story In The Heart of the Sea to the big screen starring Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy and Ben Whishaw.

In the Heart of the Sea brings to new life the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship Essex--an event as mythic in its own century as the Titanic disaster in ours, and the inspiration for the climax of Moby Dick and recounts its doomed crew's ninety-day attempt to survive whale attacks and the elements on three tiny lifeboats.

"A gripping chronicle of an epic voyage of hardship and survival that deserves to be as well known now as it once was." (Kirkus Reviews)

Read more about the movie here.

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

Book-to-Movie Alert: In the Heart of the Sea

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