Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

Join us for a book discussion of Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande is the 2026 Stern Lecture Series speaker on Oct. 27 at the Arnoff Arts Center. Being Mortal is a meditation on how people can bette r live with age-related frailty, serious illness, and approaching death. Gawande calls for a change in the way that medical professionals treat patients approaching the end of their lives. He recommends that instead of focusing on survival, practitioners should work to improve quality of life and enable well-being. Gawande shares personal stories of his patients and his own relatives' experiences, the realities of old age, overwhelmed families and expensive geriatric care, loneliness and loss of independence. The author Atul Gawande a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. He examines it's ultimate limitations and failures - in his own practices as well as others. And, discovers how we can do better.