I read half of this marvellous book and then got interrupted, and set it aside. I wish I hadn't because it gets better and better. 
 I have loved Gawande's essays in The New Yorker and his book The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. In this book, he talks about how (in general) we mismanage the final stage of life and how by tweaking how we (consumers, physicians, care-providers) view death and embrace the concept of "a good death", we can make things easier for the dying person and, incidentally, save some very stretched health care dollars. 
 So many (most?) people are afraid of dying. Which means they don't even want to contemplate that possibility, even when it appears inevitable. This stops the important conversations from happening around how we want to live out our final days, weeks, months, and can often lead to unnecessary suffering on the part of both patient and family members. 
 This book has clarified a lot of end-of-life issues in my mind and has prompted me to ensure that I have important discussions with those around me and to create a living will. 
 Highly recommended reading.