Being Mortal

Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End

By: Atul Gawande

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

For most of human history, death was a common, ever-present possibility. It didn't matter whether you were five or fifty - every day was a roll of the dice. But now, as medical advances push the boundaries of survival further each year, we have become increasingly detached from the reality of being mortal.

So here is an audiobook about the modern experience of mortality - about what it's like to get old and die, how medicine has changed this and how it hasn't, where our ideas about death have gone wrong. With his trademark mix of perceptiveness and sensitivity, Atul Gawande outlines a story that crosses the globe, as he examines his experiences as a surgeon and those of his patients and family, and learns to accept the limits of what he can do.

Never before has aging been such an important topic. The systems that we have put in place to manage our mortality are manifestly failing; but, as Gawande reveals, it doesn't have to be this way. The ultimate goal, after all, is not a good death, but a good life - all the way to the very end.

Published in partnership with the Wellcome Collection.

Wellcome Collection:

Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we think and feel about health. Inspired by the medical objects and curiosities collected by Henry Wellcome, it connects science, medicine, life and art. Wellcome Collection exhibitions, events and books explore a diverse range of subjects, including consciousness, forensic medicine, emotions, sexology, identity and death.

Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive, funding over 14,000 researchers and projects in more than 70 countries.

©2019 Atul Gawande (P)2014 Macmillan Audio

A must-read for everyone. EVERYONE.

There are very few books that I'd categories as must reads for everyone. This book is certainly one of them.

We are all going to make end of life choices - maybe for ourselves but likely also for our loved ones. Gawande uses well narrated stories to help readers step into the shoes of those making end of life decisions - both good and bad decisions are explained in a way that highlights what's truely important and how easy it is to be guided by fear and sqander the precious opportunity for a good end to a life well lived.

This book addresses this very difficult topic with sensitivity, clarity and clear headed objectivity. Death is inevitable. In today's world terminal illness is increasingly a common precursor to it. We all need to learn how to handle this extremely important period of our lives better. This book will start the right conversations.

It is not an easy listen though - I found myself in tears at multiple parts. But it's certainly a worthwhile read.

Fantastic book

Everyone has their thoughts on dying, and as it is something we will all face. This is a book we should all read!

Comfort in care...

A must read for clinicians, carers and layman alike. A view of quality of life and dignity of end of life... Our mortality, approach to care and the respect that palliative care deserves.

Thought provoking about death, aging and medicine

An honest and thought provoking exploration of aging, dying and what means most to us in the end. Palliative care is not just a growing medical need but an inevitable aspect of our modern lives.

I am a doctor myself and I believe that this is a must read for all medical practitioners. The author very earnestly tries to examine truths that most doctors are too uncomfortable to acknowledge: the limits of modern medicine, the certainty of death and difficult conversations that we need to be having with our patients and loved ones.

Great book

All of us never thought of being mortal and we cannot avoid it .
This book also showed that healthcare workers lacking in how to handle deaths