Read a book that is classified as nonfiction.
The Violence - My Family’s Colombian War by Adriana E. RamĂrez
Well-written and enlightening but not a book for the faint of heart. This book takes a look at Colombia from 1948 to the early 2000s through the lens of one family’s life. The perspective shared by the author is based on extensive objective research as well as interviews with her family, especially her maternal grandmother.
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BEING MORTAL by Atul Gawande
I started reading this book with somewhat different emotions. However the book is not depressing, merely thought provoking.The beauty of the book is that it causes the reader to think about subjects about which neither society nor individuals have given much thought. And these subjects deserve more thought and debate.
What I gained from this book is that priorities of medicine, society, institutions, and even our own children are different from those of us senior citizens. Theirs are safety and longevity. Ours are independence and control of our lives. As the author wrote, “Medicine concentrates on the repair of health, not sustenance of the soul.”
The topic of this book does not sound enlightening, but the book is well written and engages the reader. In part this is due to the manner in which the author uses real-life examples to illustrate the points that he makes. The result is that his arguments are persuasive. He persuaded me to reconsider my perspective about my own future happiness—to maintain as much control over life decisions as possible and not to automatically cede them to doctors and family members.
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