When Breath Becomes Air

by Paul Kalanithi

Hardcover, 256 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 2016 by Random House.

ISBN:: 978-0-8129-8840-6
OCLC Number:: 974395454

(8 reviews)

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 …

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.

--front flap

29 editions

KnitAFett reviewed When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Didn't find this to live up to the hype or even the blurb...

3 stars

I feel icky giving low ratings to memoirs and biographies, but I just can't bring myself to give more than 3 stars for this one.

It was interesting to be able to see life through the lens of a neurosurgeon. But I felt like there were few moments where I was actually learning about what Paul went through, what he learned, what he truly felt. It lacked the emotion that I expected with someone coming to terms with knowing that their life will be short-lived and trying to move along with that. I learned far more in the afterword from his wife than I did in the entire book.

I feel icky giving low ratings to memoirs and biographies, but I just can't bring myself to give more than 3 stars for this one.

I also just have a particular dislike for people who decide to have kids when they know one parent will not be alive to see that child grow past being a toddler. It's not my life, and people should live how they want, but I just really don't like seeing it being done and glorified like it's some amazing thing when that child will be dealing with the trauma of never knowing a parent for their whole life.

Overall, this felt like an acquaintance just quickly trying to tell you what they've been going through, and they're not comfortable enough to really let you know how they're doing and what's really going on.

Isaac reviewed When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

A Refreshing Breath of Air into Our Own Fragility

5 stars

A powerful book that intertwines literature, philosophy, medicine, science, and religion all into a ball of lived-experience that highlights the fragility of our existence—even for the young, smart, and successful. This book will lead you to think deeply about your life and will cause you to weep as Paul recounts his own experience with death. This memoir is a short and essential read for all mortals.

misaligar@bookwyrm.social reviewed When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

My first memoir and hopefully won’t be the last. Paul’s journey resonated strongly with me. His clear voice was accompanied by his sincere pursuit of meaning in this short wordly life. The book was poignant but lovely at the same time. Touched my heart throughout the entire read. Particularly the epilogue written by Paul’s wife Lucy. I would recommend this book for anyone who is searching meaning in their life.

ctaymor reviewed When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I wanted to read this one for a while and finally got around to it. It is such a powerful musing on what gives life meaning, in face of death. Stunningly written, just beautiful. We'll worth reading.

Rick Klau reviewed When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Review of 'When Breath Becomes Air' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Among the most powerful books I've ever read. It is hard to believe how completely Dr. Kalanithi covers just about every topic that matters in a life well-lived: birth, death, grief, love, fatherhood, morality, Christianity, literature, childhood, marriage, faith, friendship... I'm sure I'm missing even more. I am moved at how he faced a certain death; I'm in awe of his ability to express the journey in such a clear, profound way; I grieve for a world that lost one of the greats far too soon.

This is a magnificent tour de force of a book. It's a book only he could have written, and I am eternally grateful that he did.

tracynicholrose

rated it

Feb. 16, 2016

brettsovereign

rated it

April 27, 2016

Carmela

rated it

Dec 29

Lists

2023