Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Connie Willis wins SFWA Grand Master Award

Congratulations to Connie Willis, whose contributions to speculative fiction have been recognized with the 2011 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Works of speculative fiction by this newest Grand Master that are available from your Community Library include Blackout and its sequel All Clear, in which time-traveling historians get stranded in World War II, or her short story collection The Winds of Marble Arch and Other Stories.

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

Connie Willis wins SFWA Grand Master Award

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