I put off reading this book for a long time because I figured it'd be a stone-cold bummer. It is. But death, both our loved ones' and our own, is the one bummer we all face, and Gawande's book manages to approach a grim subject with an impossible-seeming combination of unflinching persepective and warmth. This is less a guide on how to die right than an exhortation to live right by establishing your values and priorities and sticking to them no matter what obstacles present themselves.