A few things that stuck out to me while reading Being Mortal were social changes, the role of geriatricians, and societies perception of old people. At the very beginning of the book Gawande talks about an Indian family. When the eldest in the family continues to grow older and older the family centers their lives on him. This isn’t true just for this family but for many families. The goal is to allow the grandparents or the great-grandparents and so on to live their most productive and happiest lives with normalcy. It wasn’t until recently that that social structure changed. Currently, in most countries, it is socially acceptable for young family members to venture out and create their own personal lives away from the immediate family.
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In today’s age, with the exception of kids my age trying to score booze, people lie about their age to seem younger. In the book Gawande talks about how people used to lie about their age but rather than being younger, the lied to be older. This was because older people were considered wise. They were the ones people went to for advice. On the contrary, the older people get now the more delusional and irrelevant we perceive them to be. This is a very vast and general statement but from my 20 years of living it seems true. Although I have never gone to my grandpa or any older person for life advice or direction, I find this severely disappointing. I have never rendered him useless but it’s a strong possibility that because none of his grandchildren go to him for advice he feels that way. In my opinion, geriatrics and nursing homes shouldn’t be the only ones who work towards improving the livelihood of the elderly. After reading this book, I personally will take the time to stop and appreciate the elderly in my community. Although the culture I’ve grown up in is incredibly different that the culture 50 years ago, the things I am capable of learning from someone who has lived triple or quadruple my lifetime are
In today’s age, with the exception of kids my age trying to score booze, people lie about their age to seem younger. In the book Gawande talks about how people used to lie about their age but rather than being younger, the lied to be older. This was because older people were considered wise. They were the ones people went to for advice. On the contrary, the older people get now the more delusional and irrelevant we perceive them to be. This is a very vast and general statement but from my 20 years of living it seems true. Although I have never gone to my grandpa or any older person for life advice or direction, I find this severely disappointing. I have never rendered him useless but it’s a strong possibility that because none of his grandchildren go to him for advice he feels that way. In my opinion, geriatrics and nursing homes shouldn’t be the only ones who work towards improving the livelihood of the elderly. After reading this book, I personally will take the time to stop and appreciate the elderly in my community. Although the culture I’ve grown up in is incredibly different that the culture 50 years ago, the things I am capable of learning from someone who has lived triple or quadruple my lifetime are