At the age of 36, on the verge of a completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi's health began to falter. He started losing weight and was wracked by waves of excruciating back pain. A CT scan confirmed what Paul, deep down, had suspected: he had stage four lung cancer, widely disseminated. One day, he was a doctor making a living treating the dying, and the next, he was a patient struggling to live. Just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined, the culmination of decades of striving, evaporated. Breath Becomes Air approaches the questions raised by facing mortality from the dual perspective of the neurosurgeon who spent a decade meeting patients in the twilight between life and death, and the terminally ill patient who suddenly found himself living in that liminality. At the base of Paul's inquiry are essential questions such as: …
At the age of 36, on the verge of a completing a decade's worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi's health began to falter. He started losing weight and was wracked by waves of excruciating back pain. A CT scan confirmed what Paul, deep down, had suspected: he had stage four lung cancer, widely disseminated. One day, he was a doctor making a living treating the dying, and the next, he was a patient struggling to live. Just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined, the culmination of decades of striving, evaporated. Breath Becomes Air approaches the questions raised by facing mortality from the dual perspective of the neurosurgeon who spent a decade meeting patients in the twilight between life and death, and the terminally ill patient who suddenly found himself living in that liminality. At the base of Paul's inquiry are essential questions such as: What makes life worth living in the face of death? What happens when the future, instead of being a ladder toward the goals of life, flattens out into a perpetual present? When faced with a terminal diagnosis, what does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another one fades away? As Paul wrote, "Before my cancer was diagnosed, I knew that someday I would die, but I didn't know when. After the diagnosis, I knew that someday I would die, but I didn't know when. But now I knew it acutely. The problem wasn't really a scientific one. The fact of death is unsettling. Yet there is no other way to live." Paul Kalanithi passed away in March 2015, while working on this book.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A thoughtful and deeply moving memoir that forces one to ponder and confront their own mortality. In some ways, Kalanithi's memoir reminded me of the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, as both men were furiously writing within a limited time frame imposed by terminal cancers. Both men were also reflecting back on their lives, assessing mistakes, acknowledging failures and successes, making amends, and perfectly cognizant that their work would likely be published posthumously.
Kalanithi had his life mapped out. He was preparing to exit an arduous and long residency in neurosurgery and all but had his dream job sealed up--becoming a neurosurgeon-neuroscientist at Stanford. But then when the unexpected occurred, a terminal lung-cancer diagnosis at thirty-six, he and his wife were forced not only to recalibrate their financial, marital, and career ambitions but had to fundamentally reconsider the meaning of life and, especially, of a life "well lived."
Honestly, I …
A thoughtful and deeply moving memoir that forces one to ponder and confront their own mortality. In some ways, Kalanithi's memoir reminded me of the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, as both men were furiously writing within a limited time frame imposed by terminal cancers. Both men were also reflecting back on their lives, assessing mistakes, acknowledging failures and successes, making amends, and perfectly cognizant that their work would likely be published posthumously.
Kalanithi had his life mapped out. He was preparing to exit an arduous and long residency in neurosurgery and all but had his dream job sealed up--becoming a neurosurgeon-neuroscientist at Stanford. But then when the unexpected occurred, a terminal lung-cancer diagnosis at thirty-six, he and his wife were forced not only to recalibrate their financial, marital, and career ambitions but had to fundamentally reconsider the meaning of life and, especially, of a life "well lived."
Honestly, I thought this was a great book to read near the conclusion of a tumultuous year where I dealt with a lot of professional and personal change in my life. It placed a lot of my problems in a better frame and reinforced that notion that life is often full of unexpected changes--some tragic, some wonderful--and we must learn to adapt and, to paraphrase Tolkien's Gandalf, chose what we are to do with the time we are given.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air Exp' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I felt like I read this entire book with a lump in my throat. Incredibly sad, yet inspiring at the same time. As a father of young children, his story hit especially close to home. It’s also amazing just how talented he was. In another life, he could have been a dedicated author, and with his stylistic prose, I would have read every one of his books.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
What an incredible book. Emotionally not the easiest topic, but there are so many wise words in here. Gives you a lot to think about in your current live and how you value things. Highly recommended.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
I'm a complete sucker for the Memoir genre and this one did not disappoint. And the afterward by the author's wife left me a crying mess. I'm not usually big on audiobooks (I guess my mind usually just wanders too much when I try a book in this form), but I highly recommend the audio version of this one!
Lekarsko - bardzo dobrze, ciekawe wspomnienia, oddana praca lekarza. Historia powołania również. Od strony pacjenta (druga część książki) - już dużo słabiej. Niby nadal jest sporo wiedzy lekarskiej, lecz ta część jakby słabsza. Zasadniczo dobra książka, lecz spodziewałem się czegoś "więcej" od głównego tematu książki.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A sobering read. Definitely gives you something to think about and to give thanks for. His words to his daughter really hit home in me being a new father. I recommended 100%.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This man certainly puts most of the rest of us petty mortals to shame. If I could live and die with even just an approximation of his rectitude, diligence, and openness, then I would consider it a triumph.
Hm. Ging so. Sehr amerikanisch und natürlich eine tragische Geschichte - mit unter 40 an Lungenkrebs zu sterben, mit einem kleinen Kind, das sich an den Vater nicht wird erinnern können. Aber irgendwie habe ich wohl die Message nicht ganz verstanden.... Der Autor hatte vermutlich einfach zu wenig Zeit, um sie in einem ausführlicheren Buch auch mir klar zu machen.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Beautiful account of what it is to face your own mortality, way ahead of schedule, and from the ironic perspective of someone who was no stranger to dwelling in a place of life and death. I didn't have any ah-ha moments while reading this book, but I did gain an appreciation for the short and meaningful life Dr. Kalanithi lived.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
'When Breath becomes Air' is an incredible and - for lack of a better word - poetic book that is inspirational and deeply soul-nourishing. I've highlighted and re-read passages and sentences on nearly every page in this book. The writing is simple yet very powerful, I recommend this book to everyone.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A wonderfully written treatise on the nature of death and the wonder of life, written by a brilliant neurosurgeon and cancer victim. Highly recommended, especially for those in the medical field.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A wonderfully written treatise on the nature of death and the wonder of life, written by a brilliant neurosurgeon and cancer victim. Highly recommended, especially for those in the medical field.
Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Once in a while, there's a book that will make me pause when I finish reading it. I will close the book and simply hold it and look at the cover and try and absorb what I just experienced. This is one of those books. It takes hold of you.
It's NOT easy to read from an emotional stand point. You know that Paul died prior to publication. I was most moved and drawn in by the epilogue, written by his wife Lucy.