How was your reading affected by the book's final scene, as Dr. Gawande fulfills his father's wishes? How do tradition and spirituality influence your concept of what it means to be mortal?

How was your reading affected by the book's final scene, as Dr. Gawande fulfills his father's wishes? How do tradition and spirituality influence your concept of what it means to be mortal?

I thought that final scene was beautiful.
At every turn spirituality reminds us of our mortality. And tradition helps us to link our lives to those who have come before and those who will come after.

I appreciated that he put to practice what he discovered as the best way to handle end-of-life situations and that even though he was well informed, he was still not as prepared as he thought he would be.
Tradition and spirituality (or the lack there of) is so much of who a person is whether they realize it or not. And in the end, we are all reminded of how mortal we are and we are fortunate if we are allowed time to close matters before death.

I gagged when he drank the water from the Ganga River. I think it was admirable that he was able to accomplish his father's last wishes. Tradition and spirituality help the living.

I was very touched that Dr Gawande fulfilled his fathers wishes even though he was not necessarily a believer in the legend. A beautiful ending to the book.