Book SummaryBeing Mortal, by Atul Gawande

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Being Mortal

In Being Mortal, surgeon Atul Gawande looks at the experience of aging and dying in the 21st century. In his view, the modern approach to these stages of life undermines our ability to live well up to the end—to do better, we need to accept death as a natural part of the human experience and prioritize the well-being of the dying.

Critics widely praised Being Mortal and considered it one of the best books of the year when it was published in 2014. It’s since been [adapted into a TV...

Being Mortal Summary The Way We Age and Die Today

People today live longer and better than ever before thanks to modern medical technology and other advances, but Gawande argues that the process of aging and dying has become worse. In this section, we’ll look at four problems he identifies in our modern approach to the end of life: We rarely live with aging parents and grandparents, we rely on medical institutions, we don’t manage physical frailty well, and we don’t prepare for death.

We Don’t Live With the Elderly in Multigenerational Households

One defining feature of the way we experience aging today concerns the typical household, contends Gawande: We no longer live in a multigenerational setting. Research shows that the percentage of elderly people living with their children dropped from 60% in the early 20th century to less than 15% in 1960.

Updated Statistics on Multigenerational Living in the US and Elsewhere

Gawande mainly addresses a US audience in Being Mortal, so these statistics may not be relevant for other regions. In this commentary section, we’ll address US statistics and briefly note multigenerational trends in other regions.

While it’s generally true in the US that fewer...

Being Mortal Summary How We Can Approach Aging and Dying Better

Gawande believes that our current approach to aging and dying harms our well-being. Throughout Being Mortal, he suggests some specific ways we can do better. In this section, we’ll consider four of those ideas.

We Need to Reorient Our Priorities From the Future to the Present

One way we can improve our experience of aging and dying is by reorienting our end-of-life care toward present-oriented priorities.

Referring to the work of psychologist Laura Carstensen, Gawande observes that our priorities change depending on how much time we believe we have left to live. People close to death have a present-oriented outlook: They value close relationships, treasured memories, and simple pleasures. However, the people caring for them tend to have a future-oriented outlook. They value ambitious life goals, personal independence, meeting new people, and having new experiences—and they often assume their patients share their outlook.

(Shortform note: While Gawande portrays this present-oriented outlook as generally positive for the aged and terminally ill, it may also have some downsides. According to Carstensen, one downside is that [it makes the elderly more...

Shortform Exercise: Consider Your End-of-Life Care

End-of-life care involves making numerous decisions. As we’ve seen, there’s value in considering what you might want in your end-of-life care while you have time to make those decisions. In this exercise, you’ll have the opportunity to begin thinking about three particular aspects of end-of-life care: where you’d prefer to die, what life-prolonging measures you’ll accept, and how your body should be handled after death. These are sensitive topics, but considering them well in advance is an invaluable exercise.

In the space below, write your thoughts about where you’d prefer to spend your last days. Do you want to be at home? Would you rather be in a hospital? Somewhere else?