Mortality
by Christopher Hitchens · first published 2012
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
A short, candid memoir of living with terminal cancer. It offers an honest account of the medical experience and critiques the 'fighting cancer' framing. Suited to readers facing illness or grief.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Courageous, insightful and candid thoughts on malady and mortality from one of our most celebrated writers"--Provided by the publisher.
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…McCarthy Cosmos by Carl Sagan. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Mortality by Christopher Hitchens The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander https://www.rxjourney.net/list-of-books-i-finished-reading-i... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_General_Non...
on “Ask HN: Books Recommendations?” ↗…liked When Breath Becomes Air I'd also recommend Do No Harm by Henry Marsh - it's similar in style (maybe like the book Kalanithi would have written at the end of his career). It still touches a lot on mortality. Here's a great chapter from it: http://lithub.com/aneurysm/ I'd also add Hitchens book "Mortality" as a suggestion too.
on “Famous Last Words: Three Memoirs of Mortality” ↗…the Hardcover Penguin Classic's edition of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley mainly for it's deftly abridged version and preface which gave a new dimension to the story for me. Non-fiction would either be Mortality by the late Christopher Hitchens or "On Numbers and Games" by John H. Conway.
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2014?” ↗This reminds me of the little book „Mortality“ by Christopher Hitchens where he describes his experience with this own terminal cancer. I remember how he describes this different world and also how mistaken the popular notion of „fighting cancer“…
on “How Doctors Die (2013)” ↗Mortality, Christopher Hitchens
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗…families. Still not even approaching the quality described Sorry, rambling. Probably my way of compartmentalizing the anxiety. The other thing I wanted to say is that I really liked Christopher Hitchens “Mortality” and that Terry Pratchett’s very relatable death character shows up in all of his books. My favorite quote is from “Small Gods” as Death comes for the protagonist at the very end: > “Ah. There really…
on “The hospital where staff treat fear of death as well as physical pain” ↗…by Carl Sagan. 7. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins 8. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson 9. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl 10. Mortality by Christopher Hitchens 11. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling 12. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling 13. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age…
on “Ask HN: What are you reading?” ↗Christopher Hitchens in Mortality describes his illness as making him become aware that he doesn't occupy a body, he IS a body.
on “Transplant an organ? Why not an entire body?” ↗…him from being human, like some of her favorite celebrities weren't drug addicts. "To the dumb question 'Why me?' the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: 'Why not?'" - Christopher Hitchens, from Mortality.
on “Why we ignore thousands of daily car crashes” ↗