A different view of dying

One of the biggest-selling books in China in recent years presents a perception of aging and mortality that is at odds with the nation's traditional approach.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande, a surgeon from the United States, focuses on the limits of mortality, aging, death and related issues such as debility, assisted living, nursing homes, terminal illnesses, palliative care, and hospice services.

After reading the book, Andrew Yu in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, published a blog post about his mother, who has cancer. The 43-year-old felt the book had given him a new perspective on death-whether to succumb to technology in an intensive care unit or to die at home with dignity. He recalled his 90-year-old grandmother, who chose to return to her home from the city at age 90 and died peacefully in her native village six months later.