I discovered Atul Gawande, like I have discovered other favorite authors, through Krista Tippet’s OnBeing Podcast. She interviewed him in 2017, and I was struck by his wisdom and his humility. Being Mortal is a book about how the medical system fails us and about what it means to truly live. Gawande grew up in Ohio and went on to graduate from Harvard Medical School. Being Mortal recounts what he did — and did not — learn in medical school and what he learned in life.
I have always suspected that the medical practice views death as a failure and Gawande confirms it. He tells, through stories from his personal and professional life, how modern medicine often fails patients because doctors are afraid to be honest when delivering bad news. The information is often couched in scientific terms that don’t really help people understand the reality of their situation. As modern medicine has gotten better at keeping people alive, medical practitioners are often unwilling to accept that sometimes patients die no matter what treatment is provided.
However, he also talks about practitioners who meet patients where they are and help them deal with the realities of their health. These practitioners often do not focus on prolonging life, but on helping patients make the most of the life they have left. These doctors take the time to really get to know their patients and to understand what is important to them. Instead of asking them how long they want to live, they ask them about what is important to them in life. For some patients, that might mean saying no to a surgery that would increase the time they have left on earth, but significantly reduce the quality of their life.
Gawande also shared the story of his father’s experience with a devastating spinal tumor and the two specialists he saw. One advocated immediate surgery without taking into account his patient’s concerns, and the other chose to get to know the patient and ask good questions. Although the tumor ultimately took the senior Gawande’s life, his last years were spent living like he wanted to live instead of having a surgery that could have caused him to give up what mattered to him.
This book is for anyone who wants to live a deep and rich life and is willing to ask the hard questions bout what really matters.