Being mortal : illness, medicine and what matters in the end /
Gawande, Atul,
Being mortal : illness, medicine and what matters in the end / Atul Gawande. - 282 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references.
Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families of the terminally ill. 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 a book 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, a free visitor destination that explores the connections between medicine, life and art.
9781846685828 (paperback)
2014017442
GBB485276 bnb
016823034 Uk
Terminal care.
Critical care medicine.
Aging--Physiological aspects.
Quality of life.
Hospice care.
Mortality.
Death.
Death--Psychological aspects.
Being mortal : illness, medicine and what matters in the end / Atul Gawande. - 282 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references.
Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession's ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families of the terminally ill. 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 a book 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, a free visitor destination that explores the connections between medicine, life and art.
9781846685828 (paperback)
2014017442
GBB485276 bnb
016823034 Uk
Terminal care.
Critical care medicine.
Aging--Physiological aspects.
Quality of life.
Hospice care.
Mortality.
Death.
Death--Psychological aspects.