Fascinating. Heartbreaking. Mandatory reading for all humans.

Atul Gawande looks at the medical world and how it handles death. Mostly, the bad parts: Watching people you love suffer operation after operation, treatment after treatment, hoping for a cure, but just extending their painful life longer than necessary. Himself a surgeon, he brings up important points, like how we should switch our mindset from quantity of life to quality of life. We must discuss death before it comes knocking at our door. We must make decisions for ourselves before it’s too late. And we must do better for the people we look after, to give them a good ending.

From 3 Books to Read While Waiting for Caitlin Doughty's Latest at Book Riot.