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UNC-Chapel Hill selects ‘Being Mortal’ for 2016 summer reading
(Chapel Hill, N.C. – April 29, 2016) – “Being Mortal,” a physician’s reflection about the medical field’s challenge in addressing end-of-life issues, is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s 2016 selection for its Carolina Summer Reading Program.
A nine-person panel consisting of equal parts faculty, staff and students selected best-selling author Atul Gawande’s book, which combines research and personal reflection to examine how the U.S. looks at the process of dying through the lens of medical ethics. In his book, Gawande, who was Carolina’s spring 2014 commencement speaker, also investigates the choices people must make together to fulfill a good life.
Tim Marr, distinguished associate professor of American studies and chair of the committee, said “Being Mortal” uses interviews with doctors, stories about healthcare and Gawande’s experiences during his own father’s death to explore “crucial questions about how we humanize our capacity to choose autonomy and dignity at all stages of living.”
“Dr. Gawande is a practicing surgeon who models the important stakes of life-long multidisciplinary inquiry in writing this empowering book,” said Marr. “He helps us confront death by encouraging open discussion about important matters faced by every family for which medicine can ultimately provide no answer. The book is an eloquent and informative celebration of life that contrasts three generations of a South Asian family and emboldens our appreciation of everyone’s need to exist with integrity until the end.”
First-year and transfer students who enroll at UNC-Chapel Hill this fall are encouraged to read the book this summer and participate in small group discussions the Monday before fall 2016 semester classes begin.
The Carolina Summer Reading Program, now in its 18th year, aims to stimulate critical thinking outside the classroom and give new students intellectual common ground. An academic icebreaker, it encourages students to engage with the scholarly community and come to their own conclusions about the material.
“Being Mortal” is available at Bull’s Head Bookshop in UNC Student Stores for $15.60, which is 40 percent off of the book’s list price.
For more information, visit the Carolina Summer Reading website.
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About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 113 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
Carolina Summer Reading Program contact: Alison Spannaus, (919) 962-8304, spannaus@email.unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu