Orcas Crossroads is changing its format and mission. Crossroads is moving away from offering lectures and toward promoting community engagement through conversations focused on topics relevant to Orcas Island residents. Their tagline has always been “Join the Conversation” and they are expanding on that invitation by facilitating more indepth discussions among community members.

The context of the first conversation will be Atul Gawande’s book “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.” This best selling and widely read book looks at decisions made at the end of life and pertains to anyone who is mortal or knows anyone who is. Gawande is a general and endocrine surgeon in Boston who has written four books about the medical field in America. “Being Mortal” draws on experiences from his own patients, other doctor’s patients, and his own family. He explores how medicine has become increasingly technical and driven to prolong life in ways that often diminish quality of life, actually shorten lives, and deprive people of what is of value to them.

This event will take place at Emmanuel Parish Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. There will be a short introduction to kick off small group discussions. Each small group will have a facilitator who will have a short list of discussion points.

The Orcas Public Library will be a co-sponsor of this event. Interested participants can read the book itself and/or view two videos at Atul Gawande’s website. Light refreshments will be available at this free community event.