Dear Ones -
Please read these two books.
They are both about death and dying — subjects which we must learn not to be afraid to talk about, to think about, to learn about. I don't think we can make proper decisions about life and living until we are ready to face the reality of death and dying...and these two books will help.
They were both written by brilliant doctors, and both books are wise, elegant, thoughtful meditations on the subject of mortality.
WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR has an added sense of urgency, however, as it was written by a talented and sensitive young neurosurgeon who was facing his own death from cancer, and who passed away just as he was finishing the book.
BEING MORTAL is written at a bit more of a remove, as Atul Gawande contemplates how the modern medical profession deals with (and sometimes refuses to deal with) the reality of death. My parents asked me to read it, as they felt that it dealt wisely with decisions that we will someday have to make as a family, about aging and end-of-life-care. I was so grateful that my mom and dad want to talk about these subjects now — long before they "need to" — while they still have the time and capacity to think carefully about what is inevitably coming.
Please don't feel that these books are dark and terrifying. They both shed light into places without our consciousness and within society that we must not be afraid to contemplate. Both books will expand your minds and your hearts, and both books touched me profoundly.
Read them, talk about them with your friends and family, and let all the questions that are raised within these books be raised.
Blessings and love to you all,
LG
LG
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