Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

I heard about this years ago through an interview Gawande did on The Daily Show (http://www.cc.com/video-clips/hz2xb6/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-atul-gawande). Having finally gotten to this, I wish I'd read it sooner. I listened to this from the library but I feel like I need to go buy a copy for myself and give copies to everyone. We do so much wrong medically in this country, elder and death care being just a part of it, but that part is so important. Out of the three grandparents I've lost, and the two I really remember, one had a lengthy decline that I don't think anyone would want to replicate. Even as a twelve year old I knew it wasn't right, even if he was at home. I wonder what he would have preferred in those last days, months. Now, with my last grandparent getting older and having more problems, I want to give this book to my mom and uncle and see what we can do for her. We can do so much better in this country and Gawande lays out some very basic ways of going about it.