He postulates that hospice is the most humane model of care. In the latter part of the book, Gawande shifts to end-of-life medical care and mentions practices such as euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Gawande emphasizes the notion that people nearing death should be given the opportunity to live a meaningful life and still have a purpose.
He ruminates on stories of people dealing with age-related frailty, serious illness and death, and his own confrontation with mortality. Gawande explores personal stories as well as accounts from geriatric doctors such as Keren Brown Wilson, an originator of the assisted living concept. In the beginning of the book he explores different models of senior living, including concepts such as poorhouses, multi-generational households and nursing homes. Gawande shares personal stories of his patients' and his own relatives' experiences, the realities of old age which involve broken hips and dementia, overwhelmed families and expensive geriatric care, and loneliness and loss of independence. He recommends that instead of focusing on survival, practitioners should work to improve quality of life and enable well-being. Gawande calls for a change in the way that medical professionals treat patients approaching their ends. Being Mortal has won awards, appeared on lists of best books, and been featured in a documentary.īeing Mortal is a meditation on how people can better live with age-related frailty, serious illness, and approaching death. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival. The book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande's reflections and personal stories.
Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the Endīeing Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End is a 2014 non-fiction book by American surgeon Atul Gawande.
For the film adaptation, see Being Mortal (film).
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