Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Not another New Year's

If you routinely grumble at your neighbors' New Year's noisemaking and wouldn't be caught dead in Times Square on December 31st, then this lighthearted 'bah-humbug' book might be just what you need to lift your spirits. In Not Another New Year's, Hannah Davis plans to spend the holiday at a bar alone with beer and bitter memories of her fiancé's betrayal. But she surprises even herself when she allows herself to be picked up by a gorgeous and brooding man, who turns out to be former Secret Service agent Tanner Hart, a man with his own ghosts to put to rest.

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

Not another New Year's

No comments:

Post a Comment