---
product_id: 46898794
title: "Being Mortal"
price: "€ 27.32"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.at/products/46898794-being-mortal
store_origin: AT
region: Austria
---

# Being Mortal

**Price:** € 27.32
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- **What is this?** Being Mortal
- **How much does it cost?** € 27.32 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.at](https://www.desertcart.at/products/46898794-being-mortal)

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## Description

Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post , The New York Times Book Review , NPR, and Chicago Tribune, now in paperback with a new reading group guide Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should. Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced. Nursing homes, devoted above all to safety, battle with residents over the food they are allowed to eat and the choices they are allowed to make. Doctors, uncomfortable discussing patients' anxieties about death, fall back on false hopes and treatments that are actually shortening lives instead of improving them. In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Here he examines its ultimate limitations and failures―in his own practices as well as others'―as life draws to a close. Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life―all the way to the very end.

Review: Deep and Thought-Provoking Book on Life and Healthcare - Powerful read that changes perspective on aging and medicine. Pros: Insightful, meaningful Cons: Emotionally heavy
Review: Emphasis on Quality of Living - I had not really thought through the issue of quality of living versus safety and medical interventions. BEING MORTAL has been so helpful to start the wheels turning in productive thinking ahead of my own and my husband's golden years and likely decline of our physical bodies. Much to think about after reading this! For anyone of any age who wants to have their views on aging well-thought out and well-formed before needing to make important decisions in this area. Easy to read. Though written by a physician-surgeon, it is understandable by anyone, with warmth and honesty in the writing. Many real-life examples, helpful and relevant. I worked as a nurse's aid at a state nursing home when I was in high school and still have vivid pictures in my mind of dear older folks spending their days doing nothing but sitting in wheelchairs in the hallways, of bare rooms, of institutional clothing and regulated mealtimes etc. Reading this, particularly some of the stories, and statistics on rate of decline in institutions as compared to at home care gives much to think about. Aging in place may be a new term, but the concept is the way things were done before the advent of nursing homes. (of course some cultures just left their sick elderly in the woods to die, but that's another story). What is new in our day is all the help available to make staying in one's home, or with family easier, practical (as far as possible), and so on. One has to ask, "is my family preparing to handle aging in a way that preserves quality of living as much as possible? This book may inspire some going into medicine to consider geriatric medicine, a field that is desparate for more doctors. Well, this read is a breath of fresh air in pointing out how quality of living just might be more important than safety or another medical prodecure. I will read it again as the years accumulate and I want to make good and wish choices for myself and my husband. I've already shared concepts and stories from it with my daughter. It was a great impetus to get us talking about our views for elder care and how we want to approach that if and when help is needed.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,354 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Health Policy (Books) #1 in Hospice Care #1 in Death |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 49,181 Reviews |

## Images

![Being Mortal - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91UznJLfwUL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Deep and Thought-Provoking Book on Life and Healthcare
*by D***R on May 9, 2026*

Powerful read that changes perspective on aging and medicine. Pros: Insightful, meaningful Cons: Emotionally heavy

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Emphasis on Quality of Living
*by N***. on March 6, 2024*

I had not really thought through the issue of quality of living versus safety and medical interventions. BEING MORTAL has been so helpful to start the wheels turning in productive thinking ahead of my own and my husband's golden years and likely decline of our physical bodies. Much to think about after reading this! For anyone of any age who wants to have their views on aging well-thought out and well-formed before needing to make important decisions in this area. Easy to read. Though written by a physician-surgeon, it is understandable by anyone, with warmth and honesty in the writing. Many real-life examples, helpful and relevant. I worked as a nurse's aid at a state nursing home when I was in high school and still have vivid pictures in my mind of dear older folks spending their days doing nothing but sitting in wheelchairs in the hallways, of bare rooms, of institutional clothing and regulated mealtimes etc. Reading this, particularly some of the stories, and statistics on rate of decline in institutions as compared to at home care gives much to think about. Aging in place may be a new term, but the concept is the way things were done before the advent of nursing homes. (of course some cultures just left their sick elderly in the woods to die, but that's another story). What is new in our day is all the help available to make staying in one's home, or with family easier, practical (as far as possible), and so on. One has to ask, "is my family preparing to handle aging in a way that preserves quality of living as much as possible? This book may inspire some going into medicine to consider geriatric medicine, a field that is desparate for more doctors. Well, this read is a breath of fresh air in pointing out how quality of living just might be more important than safety or another medical prodecure. I will read it again as the years accumulate and I want to make good and wish choices for myself and my husband. I've already shared concepts and stories from it with my daughter. It was a great impetus to get us talking about our views for elder care and how we want to approach that if and when help is needed.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Cool Jazz -- Smart, Insightful & Dispassionate
*by K***R on October 8, 2014*

Gawande's style is like cool jazz -- confidential and unhysterical in tone, far-ranging and penetrating in its insights --with big takeaways. 1. We have made a hash of end-of-life medical treatment, and cause unnecessary suffering by over-focusing on extending time rather than on human values, such as meaning and comfort, that often matter more to dying people. 2. We tend to want freedom for ourselves and safety for those we love -- hence nursing homes and assisted living setups that rob their residents (inmates really) of autonomy, joy & purpose, even when well-run. 3. When a patient says, "Save my life, doc!" he/she usually means "restore me to my previous life!" (save my life, doc, not my mere body.) That is often impossible, and doctors (including, Gawande admits, himself) often choke on saying so. 4. Among the crucial 4 questions to ask a chronically/critically ill person: "what would a good day look like to you?" Gawande is an MD with an eagle's overview of the medical landscape and a confidential, intimate writing style. His comparison of the death of his grandfather (in India, surrounded by supportive relatives, at 110, with no Hail Mary medical interventions) and that of his wife's grandmother (alone in assisted living in the US) is poignant. He's brilliant at painting the big picture with a light, seemingly effortless touch. In researching my own book, "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (which explores end-of-life medicine from the vantage point of a daughter-caregiver,) I absorbed many lessons from Gawande's award-winning work in the New Yorker, which forms the backbone of this book. Three cheers to Gawande for helping break through the confusion and terror surrounding medicalized death, and for highlighting the docs and nurses (especially in palliative care and hospice) working tirelessly towards a better way of death. PS Gawande would have a close-to 5 star rating, except for a one-star review from someone who doesn't like "Obamacare." I bet as the reviews roll in, this will balance out. This book will help reform medicine from the inside out and will be useful to all practicing physicians and health policy people. It doesn't, however, "follow the money," and that is a crucial shaper of poor end of life medicine. It won't all be solved with better communication. Below, some companion how-to books I found useful as a family caregiver. Knocking on Heaven's Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death Memoir and map, plus investigative reporting on the economic drivers of medical overdoing near the end of life. My Mother, Your Mother: Embracing "Slow Medicine," the Compassionate Approach to Caring for Your Aging Loved Ones THE best manual for family caregivers of the aged, by the geriatrician who pioneered "Slow Medicine" in the US. Covers the last chapter of life -- from first decline to what McCullough calls "Prolonged and Attenuated Dying." Hard Choices for Loving People: CPR, Artificial Feeding, Comfort Care, and the Patient with a Life-Threatening Illness, 5th Ed. A hospice chaplain discusses when to stop pain-inducing medical measures from a practical and low-key spiritual perspective. Short and gentle, narrowly focused on end of life. Over 4 million copies in print. Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir Hilarious graphic memoir of parental caregiving, by Roz Chast. Everything you felt but dared not say!

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*Product available on Desertcart Austria*
*Store origin: AT*
*Last updated: 2026-06-04*