I cried several times when reading the article "Letting Go" by Atul Gawande, in the August 2nd issue of The New Yorker. It's about modern medicine and the art of dying, or rather, how inadequate modern medicine is at preparing people for death. A must read for anyone who feels that meditating on the end of things is a powerful way to live, or anyone who's life has been touched by a terminal illness. It made me want to be a Hospice nurse, or go find some Hospice nurses, look them in the eye, and shake their hands.
You can read the article online here. It's pretty long, but life is short, and if you read the article, it'll make sense why you should take the time to think about it.
I didn't want to be a downer and post the link on Facebook, but then I walked by this storefront on the way back to my office at lunch, so I took it as a sign that I should share it somewhere.
Frivolous side note: neon pink masking tape is awesome. Must get my hands on some.
1 comment:
Long and compelling, important, Gawande slowly tours scenes where we don't want to look, but where we should if we hope to find peace of mind about the end of life, or an understanding of the vast, expensive junkyard of healthcare.
Tellingly, in one short sentence he dispatches the vile nonsense of "death panels."
Now it's on to George Packer, writing about the dysfunction of the Senate -- light summer reading from the New Yorker.
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