In his book, Being Mortal, Dr. Atul Gawande discusses the struggles of his profession and his patients with life-threatening illnesses. Patients often seek, or are given, treatments that help them live the longest, but not the best lives. Doctors need to provide better guidance. Families need to talk about aging, illness, death, and quality of life realistically. This class will use Gawande’s findings to discuss these issues and begin to formulate personal wishes for how each person wants to be treated by doctors and families during medical decision-making in order to keep the most possible independence and sense of meaning.