Our reverence for independence takes no account of the reality of what happens in life: sooner or later, independence will become impossible. Serious illness or infirmity will strike. It is as inevitable as sunset. And then a new question arises: If independence is what we live for, what do we do when it can no longer be sustained?
Atul Gawande, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
ageing, independence, infirmity, sickness