Being a surgeon and bestselling
author, there is no doubt that Atul Gawande is intelligent. When he discusses
complex medical terms and statistics, he does so with ease and detail. This
logos proves his extensive knowledge he possessed in order to write this
nonfiction. His research into the history of elderly care is comprehensive as
when he provides the histories of assisted living and hospice. Gawande weaves
this information into his memoir masterfully by telling the reader only
pertinent facts to the book. The reality is that this is a story foremost and
not a dry scientific journal. Gawande knows his audience are mostly not doctors
that can understand the complicated jargon of medical professionals. Knowing this,
he relies on wisdom and anecdotes to drive his message that the elderly care
system needs to be reformed.
Wisdom is different from knowledge
in the regard that wisdom is learned from experience. There are lessons and
teachings that an old uneducated man knows over a child genius. In Gawande’s
case, he writes of the wisdom of people who have been affected by an elder
close to the end of their life. Although his father’s end of life played a
critical role in the climax of this nonfiction, Gawande harks on the wisdom of
others to relay the overarching theme of his book. Some examples that come to my
mind is Dr. Bill Thomas and Karen Brown Wilson. Even though their methods were
completely different, they were able to improve the medical care system in
their own unique ways. By describing others in this story, Gawande makes his
argument stronger and more reliable. Overall, there is an expert blend of both
knowledge and wisdom in this nonfiction drawing in all readers whether it is a
college freshman or a grandparent struggling in the end of their life.
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