Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End

Reading this book helped me understand my mother-in-law's reluctance to move into independent living, helped me realize that what we as children want for our parents (safety, health) is not necessarily the most important for them (to have control of their own story/life), to value the first assisted living concepts and what people are doing to try to provide a place for the elderly that has life and autonomy and isn't designed for those who work there and the medical industry. To understand that whether it's because your old or because you've been diagnosed with a terminal illness, your perception about life often changes and you start to be instead of achieve, to value time with family more than new adventures, and to understand the value of hospice and the difficult choices we all face as we or our loved ones are forced to deal with end-of-life decisions. I learned, I cried, I loved this book.