Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Book Review: Living with the Dead

Rhianna said...
"Living with the Dead" by Kelley Armstrong.This book is one in a series called women of otherworld. I found it intriguing and will be reading more of the series in the near future. I tend to gravitate towards supernatural stories and strong female characters and this book had both. Hope Adams is a half Demon, Adele Morrissey is a clairvoyent and Robin is a human with a lot of spunk. All in all a fun read

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 Review: Living with the Dead

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