Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library Reader Advisory Blog: Lowcountry Summer Series

The third and final book in the Lowcountry Summer Series by Mary Alice Monroe has been released! Sink into summer by reading about sisters Carson, Eudora and Harper and their stay at their family estate on Sullivan's Island.

Book #1 - Summer Girls

Summoned by their grandmother to a historic family home on Sullivan's Island, estranged sisters Carson, Eudora, and Harper share a summer of healing and forgiveness while exploring the tenacious complexities of sisterhood and friendship. (Publisher Summary)

Book #2 - Summer Wind

Raising her autistic child alone after being abandoned by her husband, Dora, who for years played the role of a perfect wife in a loveless marriage, spends a stormy summer of healing and self-discovery with her half-sisters and grandmother. (Publisher Summary)

Book #3 - The Summer's End

A conclusion to the trilogy that includes The Summer Wind finds Mamaw and the three sisters confronting loss and transition after realizing that they will have to sell their beloved Sullivan's Island estate. (Publisher Summary)

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

Lowcountry Summer Series

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