Thursday, September 24, 2026 · 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Jenks Center, 109 Skillings Rd — 109 Skillings Rd., Winchester, MA
This book club at The Jenks , in partnership with the Winchester Public Library, brings a sociological and anthropological lens to the discussion of books. This month, we will discuss Being mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming the dangers of childbirth, injury, and disease from harrowing to manageable. But when it comes to the inescapable realities of aging and death, what medicine can do often runs counter to what it should. Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, practicing surgeon Atul Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced. Nursing homes, devoted above all to safety, battle with residents over the food they are allowed to eat and the choices they are allowed to make. Doctors, uncomfortable discussing patients' anxieties about death, fall back on false hopes and treatments that are actually shortening lives instead of improving them. Riveting, honest, and humane, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life―all the way to the very end. Limited to 15 readers, registration required. Books provided by WPL and can…