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When Breath Becomes Air

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In "When Breath Becomes Air" by Paul Kalanithi, readers are taken on a poignant journey through the author's experiences as a neurosurgeon facing a terminal cancer diagnosis. The book beautifully captures Kalanithi's reflections on life, death, and the pursuit of meaning amidst his battle with illness. Through eloquent writing and a blend of medical insights, personal anecdotes, and literary references, Kalanithi shares his profound thoughts on mortality, resilience, and the importance of living purposefully even in the face of imminent death.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is lyrical and deeply introspective, blending medical insights with philosophical reflections, making it both accessible and profound.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot focuses on Kalanithi's journey from a successful neurosurgeon to grappling with his identity and mortality after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Setting:

The setting oscillates between clinical environments and personal moments, emphasizing the contrast between professional life and personal struggles.

Pacing:

The pacing is well-balanced, contemplative and engaging, shifting between past experiences and immediate emotions as the narrative unfolds.
PAUL DIED ON MONDAY, March 9, 2015, surrounded by his family, in a hospital bed roughly two hundred yards from the labor and delivery ward where our daughter, Cady, had entered the world eight months ...

Notes:

Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at the age of 36.
He had a strong background in both literature and science, holding advanced degrees in English literature and a medical degree.
Kalanithi's memoir, When Breath Becomes Air, was published posthumously after his death in March 2015.
The book grapples with large existential questions about life, death, and what gives life meaning.
Kalanithi wrote the book to leave a legacy for his daughter, born shortly before his death.
The epilogue of the book is written by Kalanithi's wife, Lucy, providing a personal perspective on his final days and their life together.
Kalanithi reflected on his training as a doctor and how it informed his understanding of illness from both sides of the patient-doctor relationship.
His writing combines medical insight with literary flair, offering poignant reflections throughout the memoir.
Before his diagnosis, Kalanithi had to balance an intense surgical residency with his personal life, including his marriage.
The book emphasizes the importance of embracing life fully, even in the face of death.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include terminal illness, graphic medical descriptions, and discussions of death and dying.

From The Publisher:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST

This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living?

NAMED ONE OF PASTE'S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review

People

NPR

The Washington Post

Slate

Harper's Bazaar

Time Out New York

Publishers Weekly

BookPage

Finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction and the Books for a Better Life Award in Inspirational Memoir

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi's transformation from a naïve medical student "possessed," as he wrote, "by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life" into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.

Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. "I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything," he wrote. "Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: 'I can't go on. I'll go on.'" When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.

Ratings (128)

Incredible (33)
Loved It (52)
Liked It (27)
It Was OK (13)
Did Not Like (2)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (289):

Read It (133)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (100)
Did Not Finish (3)
Not Interested (52)

4 comment(s)

Loved It
6 days

It's a book about dying so of course it's emotional, but I wasn't prepared how deeply in moved I got from the story. It's not the best memoir or the best written but it's tells an important life story and I'm happy I read it.

 
Loved It
1 week

“We sat on the couch, and when I told her, she knew. She leaned her head on my shoulder, and the distance between us vanished. "I need you," I whispered. “I will never leave you,” she said.”

First 1/2 of the book was fairly interesting with the in depth medical history and path that Paul took, the first half of the second half of the book was too preachy in a way, but the last half was a heart wrenching page turner, especially the section written by his wife.

 
Loved It
2 weeks

Be prepared, this is a heavy read. It is gonna give you the feels.

This made me feel like I was able to share in a random person's end of life wishes. I am sure I am a better person for having participated in reading this.

 
Incredible
5 months

If I could give this book more stars I definitely would. This beautifully written memoir is the type of book you can read more than once

 

About the Author:

Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon and writer. He grew up in Kingman, Arizona, and graduated from Stanford University with a BA and MA in English literature and a BA in human biology. He earned an MPhil in history and philosophy…

 
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