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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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- 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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- Anonymous User
- 19-08-20
I got a new perspective of medicine.
I read it over a couple of weeks. It's a highly inspiring and, at times, emotional book. The narrator is a great story teller.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rohit
- 24-01-20
Great and moving
Thought provoking
Difficult subject well told
Moving
A really great book
What more can I say ?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Eleanor Akaho
- 09-04-22
An Important Read
All health and social care professionals should read this! It gave me a lot of food for thought and reminded me that a good death is just as important a thing to aspire to as a good life.
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- M. E. Birch
- 04-04-24
Every doctor should read this book!
A brilliant book. Everyone should read it, and it should be compulsory for medical students. A tough listen, but we all need to really confront the fact that these things will probably happen to us and almost certainly to someone we know and love. The way people’s last days are blighted by pointless medicalisation is horrendous. Be brave folks! Still be yourself at the end if you possibly can, and good luck!
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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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- John Cato
- 05-08-22
...
An Essential read for all. Really good however could do with a tightened up version.
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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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