Book Review Corner: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

In all honesty, this isn’t the kind of book I would naturally pick up. It’s non-fiction and it’s not even the story kind – more like the facts kind. But it had been a while since I ventured out from my general preference for books, and so after a little digging I found this book to be a comfortable step outside my comfort zone.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande discusses in detail what we as a society fail to discuss: death. Death is as natural as it gets. All of us, despite social status, race, and sex will all one day die. It’s understandable why we tend to shy away from the topic: whether we like it or not, humans are “half glass full” creatures. Death, however, doesn't fit that perspective. We don’t like the idea of endings. Gawande, an attributed author, general surgeon, and fellow human, takes upon the topic of mortality from the perspective of medicine. Specifically, he analyzes the shortcomings of medicine in the end of one’s life. 

Reading the book as a seventeen year old is quite enlightening. It was as though Gawande intentionally carried me along with him on this journey of new found understanding and realizations. I’m only 17; I don’t think about the idea of death a lot. More importantly, however, I have never put myself in the shoes of someone on the verge of death. Gawande in this book discovers that our failure to do so is what ultimately brings down our system of caring for those that are elderly or those with terminal illnesses.

Gawande forced me as the reader to take that first step and truly see what life is like for the terminally ill and aged. 

The discussion of the elderly is deepened throughout the novel. In this day and age, we see the aged as a problem to be solved. As they slowly become more dependent on others, their safety and health becomes a top concern to their close ones. In the novel, Gawande analyzes the principles of nursing homes, priorzing what the family members of the aged want – but rarely what the aged themselves want. We as a society fail to realize that they too want more than just being alive. They want communication, privacy, attachment, a sense of belonging, purpose. Nursing homes and similar institutions strip away the very being of a person, merely to keep them alive. Is being alive worth the sacrifice of life itself? 

Gawnde delves into the principles of medicine: is it to simply make a person live for as long as they possibly can, or rather is it to make the most out of the life that a person has? Medicine has revolutionized the world as we know it. Life expectancies have doubled, even tripled from the past. The downside of medicine comes to light in this novel. Many physicians, to no fault of their own, view medicine as a means to solve. But maybe the solution isn’t always there. Medicine isn’t a straightforward field; it varies from patient to patient. At times, the right choice isn’t to do “whatever it takes” to prolong life but to properly tend to their demise – truly it all boils down to quality vs. quantity at its darkest.

The book emphasizes the importance of prioritizing quality of life, autonomy, and dignity for individuals nearing the end of their lives. It suggests that our focus on extending life and battling aging and illness can sometimes overshadow what truly matters to people in their final stages. Rather than just aiming to prolong life, Gawande advocates for a shift towards providing a better quality of life for those dealing with terminal illness or old age.

In the end, "Being Mortal" encourages people to face the truth of death with strength and kindness, and to push for a healthcare system that respects each person's choices and beliefs, enabling them to spend their last moments with honor and significance, even if that means having the conversations we tend to shy away from.