There isn't really anything new about mortality literature. It's probably been around as long as people have taken a moment to contemplate death. Despite what you may think, however, not all the readings are doom and gloom about facing the big D. Some are positive, discussing gratitude for the things experienced in life or trying to live life to the fullest.
Two of the more recent books were written by doctors--one at the end of his career, the other at the beginning. Both had a diagnosis of cancer, but while one was able to look back, the other was unable to look forward. Oliver Sacks wrote Gratitude, a compilation of four essays, in which he reflected on his past and the gratitude he had for a life well lived. Meanwhile, Paul Kalanithi wrote When Breath Becomes Air, in which he pondered how to live a meaningful life when he realized his time no longer stretched out years before him.
Death has long been a taboo subject in Western culture, but mortality literature is helping to open a conversation about death, to make it less daunting and more understandable. Authors who have been courageous enough to share their experiences with death have important lessons to teach us about life. They raise questions within us. Are we living the best lives that we can? What are the things that really matter to us? What are the things that really make us happy? What are the things that really make us grateful?
I realize that mortality literature may not be the kind of reading people want to take to the beach. Even I have to read it when I'm of a mind to read it. But when you are of a certain mind, allow me to make the following suggestions:
- Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
- Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
- Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
- When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
- Gratitude by Oliver Sacks
- The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
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