Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: art of forgetting

Not sure what to read next? Try one of these brand-new, highly-anticipated fiction titles. Join a hapless children's librarian in The Borrower as she semi-accidentally kidnaps a boy, or travel through the jungles of the Amazon in Ann Patchett's latest thrilling mystery, State of Wonder. Escape to Nantucket with the disgraced-by-association wife of a Wall Street con artist in Silver Girl. Delve into the psychology of friendship and amnesia with The Art of Forgetting, or shiver your way through Robopocalypse, a near-future story about a robot-led uprising against humanity. And above all, don't forget to sign up for the NextReads newsletter, which sends monthly book recommendations by genre straight to your inbox!

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

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