Book Discussion: Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande

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Join us for a book discussion of Being Mortal by Dr. Atul Gawande. Dr. Gawande is the 2026 Stern Lecture Series speaker on Oct. 27 at the Arnoff Arts Center. Being Mortal is a meditation on how people can better live with age-related frailty, serious illness, and approaching death. Gawande calls for a change in the way that medical professionals treat patients approaching their ends. He recommends that instead of focusing on survival, practitioners should work to improve quality of life and enable well-being. Gawande shares personal stories of his patients' and his own relatives' experiences, the realities of old age which involve broken hips and dementia, overwhelmed families and expensive geriatric care, and loneliness and loss of independence. In his bestselling books, Atul Gawande, a practicing surgeon, has fearlessly revealed the struggles of his profession. Now he examines its ultimate limitations and failures – in his own practices as well as others’ – as life draws to a close. And he discovers how we can do better. The discussion will take place at the Reading Library's meeting room at 6:30pm. This event is presented in connection with the 2026 Mary S. Stern Lecture featuring Atul Gawande, M.D., bestselling author of "Being Mortal." This ticketed event is made possible through an endowment to the The Library Foundation. Get tickets to the lecture here: https://bit.ly/SternLecture2026