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Being Mortal
- Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
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Being Mortal
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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.
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What listeners say about Being Mortal
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sheila
- 05-10-19
Essential reading for health professionals everywhere.
Excellent thought provoking book. Written with sensitivity, compassion and wisdom. The writer, a doctor looks beyond ‘keeping alive at all costs’ and role of doctors as instructors rather than fellow travellers.
I hope that someone with the skill of Gawande will be around for me when it’s time to move on. Should be read with Sue Black’s book ‘All That Remains’. Now to read something lighter!
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- review
- 19-04-20
a must read
A vitally important book for us all, whether in facing our own mortality or that of a loved one. Gwande brings to the fore difficult but real issues that need addressing by medics and each one of us in this medically 'curing ills' age
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- AMF
- 18-12-22
Very humbling
And interesting and humbling read for someone living with aged parents. This could have been a very maudlin and saccharine read it was the opposite. Yes there are times it was uncomfortable but it was never depressing or inauthentic. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Fariel Rahman
- 25-09-19
Beautifully written
Beautiful written story narrated well. Elegantly crafts the story of how precious life, a good life can be honoured with a good death as defined by each person. Asks us to question who should be making these decisions at the end of a life and how we don’t quite have it right yet!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- John Cato
- 05-08-22
...
An Essential read for all. Really good however could do with a tightened up version.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- David S.
- 04-11-22
Changed my view on treatment of at risk patients
Thought provoking book about dealing with deathly disease and the tradeoffs between pursuing a cure and making the most of the time you have. Highly recommended.
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- Peter Wright
- 23-05-23
Excellent. Eye-opening. Necessary listening.
The topic of this book makes for difficult listening at times, so I'm glad I listened to it at 35 rather than 75 years old, hopeful that I have many years to process my own mortality.
To me, the ramifications of this book are outstanding — offering some peacefulness and direction for people during the most chaotic time of their lives. Dying is something we will all face, and this book will offer at least one or two valuable nuggets of advice for how you should meet it.
Anyone wondering how well a surgeon can write should relax as Gawande writes beautifully and clearly throughout.
This really is a tough book at times, with a lot if death and suffering within it. But there is so much heart and humanity here too. I recommend sticking with it.
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- Sugamama
- 03-08-21
more relevant to the American health care system
I really enjoyed the book and certainly understand why it has been recommended to me more than once by colleagues. My only potentially negative comment would be that lots of it applies more to the American health care system (in the UK the hospice care is very good and you certainly don't have to sign a form to say you are not having treatment, also people with terminal disease would not be placed on ventilators as some examples). overall though I liked the concept of reframing how we think about end of life care and priorities.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- F. Walshaw
- 19-01-22
How to die??
Essential reading for all persons growing into old age and contemplating their demise! Not sad or sorrowful but very helpful!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Sophie
- 08-06-20
How to Die
A look at how and why we her end of life care wrong and tips for how to put it right.
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