Updated September 12th, 2022
Part Science, Part Life Philosophy
Memoirs, especially memoirs of terminally ill patients, are not light reading. Paul Kalanithi was a Stanford and Yale-educated neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in his mid-thirties. He had his whole medical career ahead of him, and just like that, his whole world changed. When Breath Becomes Air was a raw look into the life of a doctor, who also becomes a patient. And he takes his readers along the way.
What made me not put When Breath Becomes Air Down?
I read this book rather quickly because of a few different reasons. First, this book was written beautifully. What I mean by that is, Paul Kalanithi was just honest and raw and brave by sharing with the public his life journey and cancer journey. He reveals his thoughts in the darkest times of his and his family’s lives.
Second, this book has a unique angle- it is written by a doctor (a brilliant and talented one at that) who is now a patient.
Third, that is not the only unique angle of the book. Kalanithi was always interested in the question “what makes a life worth living?” and the difference between the brain and the mind. This is one of the reasons he was attracted to neuroscience and subsequently, neurosurgery. In fact, he aspired to be a surgeon/professor after his residency.
Fourth, which ties back into the first point, he also had a dream of being a writer or a literature professor. I’m glad he was able to write the book (though his wife tells us he did not fully finish it) for one of his last accomplishments.
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Conclusion
This is not a feel-good-happy-cheery- read. It’s deep and will make you think about your own life. If you are interested in medicine (like neuroscience or oncology) you will relate to the medical aspects of this book. But everyone will relate to the spiritual and philosophical side of the book. It’s a shame the world lost the talents of Paul Kalanithi, but it’s great that his legacy lives on!
How Many Stars?
5 🙂
See conclusion above for why I gave it 5 stars.
BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME
Title: When Breath Becomes Air
Author: Paul Kalanithi
Publish Date: January 12, 2016
ISBN: 081298840X ISBN-13: 978-0812988406
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