When Breath Becomes Air
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- Create Date：2021-03-31 09:16:26
- Update Date：2025-09-07
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- Author：Paul Kalanithi
- ISBN：1784701998
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Summary
At the age of thirty-six， on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon， Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer。 One day he was a doctor treating the dying， the next he was a patient struggling to live。
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and a new father。
When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and a new father。
Reviews
Fathima Moyikkal
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Cried so much in the end。 A short read but a beautiful story。 You will be missed dr。 Kalanithi
Jeanette
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I began reading this at the beginning of February to help prepare me for going into end-of-life care as a social worker this coming fall。 I finished it the month after my own father passed。 I began it as a passive observer， and finished it having to confront my grief in ways I'd been avoiding。 I cannot speak highly enough of the power of Dr。 Kalanithi's final words， the way he honored his life and death， and the impact he left on the world。 I began reading this at the beginning of February to help prepare me for going into end-of-life care as a social worker this coming fall。 I finished it the month after my own father passed。 I began it as a passive observer， and finished it having to confront my grief in ways I'd been avoiding。 I cannot speak highly enough of the power of Dr。 Kalanithi's final words， the way he honored his life and death， and the impact he left on the world。 。。。more
sophie Patnicroft-Gray
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I loved this book。 Timely， poetic， made me think about life and death， particularly after my own cancer diagnosis。 How these affect the ones around us and what it all really means。
Patricia Wierstra
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Emotional， deep， and pushes you to reflect on your own existence。
Marilyn
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B
Pontus
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When Breath Becomes Air is a powerful account of a young man's death。 It is similar to 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' in that sense， but since it is biographical， it resonated even more deeply with my emotional side。 The author， Paul Kalanithi， goes from being a successful neurosurgeon-neuroscientist to dying from lung cancer。 Something that I found particularly powerful was how the terminally ill Kalanithi didn't know what he wanted to do with his time; depending on if he was going to die within a When Breath Becomes Air is a powerful account of a young man's death。 It is similar to 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' in that sense， but since it is biographical， it resonated even more deeply with my emotional side。 The author， Paul Kalanithi， goes from being a successful neurosurgeon-neuroscientist to dying from lung cancer。 Something that I found particularly powerful was how the terminally ill Kalanithi didn't know what he wanted to do with his time; depending on if he was going to die within a month， a year or ten years， he had different answers to the same question。 He described how he resolved to continue practicing medicine simply because he felt that was who he was。 This made me think about Ivan Ilyich's final insight: "this was one way to lead a life， who is to say that one is better than the other？"The book ends in an open ended way as he got too sick to finish it， but I felt that Kalanithi got to say what he wanted。 Knowing that we all will die， and that it could be anytime， is a sobering thought。 I felt that Kalanithi gave a vivid and insightful account of what it is like to be dying and I'm thankful I read it。 。。。more
Daniel Data
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I May Not Understand all of the Medical Jargon but I Do Understand that their is Such Beauty in Death and Grief。 We Have all Been Here Before。 Unrelated， I have such a disdain for hospitals and the overall medical industry。 I have never been able to trust a doctor and their intentions。 Good Luck Catching Me Slippin on a Medical Table。
Paige Brewer
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Really good - especially love all the doctor stuff
Adi
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is very real and human experience as we follow Paul's life leading up to his Diagnosis of cancer and soon after death due to mentioned cancer。 Though the book and the story of his life in the hospital and residency were very intriguing to learn about， I found this book to be slow moving and a bit stiff。 Pauls personality was one that was very educated and direct， at times he didn't feel like a real person in the way that he wrote。 I had a hard time connecting to him and his story， due This book is very real and human experience as we follow Paul's life leading up to his Diagnosis of cancer and soon after death due to mentioned cancer。 Though the book and the story of his life in the hospital and residency were very intriguing to learn about， I found this book to be slow moving and a bit stiff。 Pauls personality was one that was very educated and direct， at times he didn't feel like a real person in the way that he wrote。 I had a hard time connecting to him and his story， due to interjecting quotes， the directness of his tone and almost too accepting attitude towards the cancer。 I know this was a real person and real experience， but I had a hard time connecting with it。 I've had an aunt and Grandma have cancer and this just didn't amplify some of the true horrors of cancer。 He told you the side affects but it just was stiff and hard to read。 - Adelaide Pope 。。。more
Lương Birdy
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Cuốn này nói về hành trình sống của Paul Kalanithi - từ một cậu bé， trở thành sinh viên y khoa， bác sĩ nội trú đến tiến sĩ phẫu thuật thần kinh， rồi một nhà văn， và cuối cùng là một cái tên trong trái tim của những người còn sống。Nhờ cuốn sách này mà mình hiểu thêm về bệnh ung thư， cụ thể là những gì mà người bệnh phải trải qua - vô cùng đau đớn， mất kiên nhẫn và đôi lúc tuyệt vọng。 Cảm giác cuộc đời thật vô thường， khi Paul đang đứng ngay trước ngưỡng cửa của một tương lai thành công viên mãn t Cuốn này nói về hành trình sống của Paul Kalanithi - từ một cậu bé， trở thành sinh viên y khoa， bác sĩ nội trú đến tiến sĩ phẫu thuật thần kinh， rồi một nhà văn， và cuối cùng là một cái tên trong trái tim của những người còn sống。Nhờ cuốn sách này mà mình hiểu thêm về bệnh ung thư， cụ thể là những gì mà người bệnh phải trải qua - vô cùng đau đớn， mất kiên nhẫn và đôi lúc tuyệt vọng。 Cảm giác cuộc đời thật vô thường， khi Paul đang đứng ngay trước ngưỡng cửa của một tương lai thành công viên mãn thì bệnh ung thư lại tìm đến và che khuất mọi tia sáng trong cuộc đời của anh。Trong Lời Bạt cuối sách， mình rất thích câu nói của Lucy - vợ Paul:"Chúng tôi từng nói đùa với bạn bè rằng bí kíp để cứu sống một mối quan hệ đó là một trong hai người bị bệnh gần chết。 Trái lại， chúng tôi tự hiểu rằng thật ra bí kíp để kiểm soát một căn bệnh thập tử nhất sinh lại chính là tình yêu thương - để có thể bị tổn thương， để có lòng tử tế， để bao dung， và để biết ơn。"Vì là một cuốn tự truyện được viết ra khi tác giả sắp lìa xa cuộc đời nên mình không có nhận xét gì về mặt nội dung。 Chỉ tiếc là cái kết hơi hụt hẫng， có thể do tác giả đuối sức quá rồi。 Điểm mình chưa hài lòng ở cuốn này là phần dịch。 Nhiều đoạn cảm giác tác giả có ý rất hay nhưng phần dịch quá tối nghĩa nên không cảm được hết。 Tóm lại thì， vẫn là một cuốn sách nên đọc。 。。。more
tas
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"Even if I'm dying， until I actually die， I am still living。"When Breath Becomes Air provided such a unique perspective on the meaning and purpose of life， death， philosophy， and neuroscience。 This book hurt me so much and it left me quite literally gasping for air。 I appreciated this masterpiece so much， as someone who wants to study neuroscience and literature。My heart is so full。 Paul's words were truly unforgettable。 "This book carries the urgency of racing against time， of having impo "Even if I'm dying， until I actually die， I am still living。"When Breath Becomes Air provided such a unique perspective on the meaning and purpose of life， death， philosophy， and neuroscience。 This book hurt me so much and it left me quite literally gasping for air。 I appreciated this masterpiece so much， as someone who wants to study neuroscience and literature。My heart is so full。 Paul's words were truly unforgettable。 "This book carries the urgency of racing against time， of having important things to say。"5/5 stars 。。。more
Nourine
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the foreword was awful though
Aimeng Guo
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Don't have the heart to give this book anything less than a 5 star。。。。 Don't have the heart to give this book anything less than a 5 star。。。。 。。。more
Kiran bhusal
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sometimes it made me warm and many times I cried 。 Clearly ， a book that shows life，death，and the time we think we have between life and death in a different way。 A book to be read by everyone
Shirley
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Kalanithi really had such a way with words and I enjoyed reading this！！ From his journey to becoming a neurosurgeon to getting his cancer diagnosis to his last few moments on Earth， Kalanthi goes through his process of figuring out what the meaning of life is。A good read！！ I cried （obvi） a lot at the end。
Rachana Udupa
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Don't get the hype。 Don't get the hype。 。。。more
Su
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I really wanted to like this book more。 Lovely message from a thoughtful， intelligent man， but it felt muddled underneath the medical jargon and oodles of literature references。 The prose ended up feeling more like a college essay to me than an interpersonal exploration of the human condition’s relationship to life and death。 It feels unfinished and unpolished， but I can see how that adds a bit of charm。
Bibek Thapa
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You know the feeling when you read a book just at the right time， like just when you really needed it， and it hits you harder than you expected？ When Breath Becomes Air was that book for me。 It wasn't a perfect book， but it was just what I needed at the moment I read it。 You know the feeling when you read a book just at the right time， like just when you really needed it， and it hits you harder than you expected？ When Breath Becomes Air was that book for me。 It wasn't a perfect book， but it was just what I needed at the moment I read it。 。。。more
Helene
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I disliked the foreword， but really liked his wife's epilogue。 In between these two sections lies his own autobiography。 There were passages which really moved me and reminded me of the discussions I had with both my grandparents when they were dying of cancer too。。。 Overall I enjoyed reading about his life as a neurosurgeon as I knew next to nothing about this profession before opening this book。 I disliked the foreword， but really liked his wife's epilogue。 In between these two sections lies his own autobiography。 There were passages which really moved me and reminded me of the discussions I had with both my grandparents when they were dying of cancer too。。。 Overall I enjoyed reading about his life as a neurosurgeon as I knew next to nothing about this profession before opening this book。 。。。more
Bookish Melba
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Such a humbling read！ A clear reminder of how death is unpredictable。 Paul’s story is heartbreaking yet encouraging to want to make a meaning out of life， to leave a legacy， to be kind， to do what you love and excel in it and most importantly to love hard。 We are all living on borrowed time， what are we doing with it？
Afina Mandarina
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Absolutely beautiful book， which gives valuable impulses to think of life， death and time。
Rachel
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honestly， the best book i've read in my entire life。 it's extremely beautiful and gut-wrenchingly sad。 it's the first book to make me cry in a long time。 it's incredibly impactful- this book is one of those that will linger with you and never fully leave your system honestly， the best book i've read in my entire life。 it's extremely beautiful and gut-wrenchingly sad。 it's the first book to make me cry in a long time。 it's incredibly impactful- this book is one of those that will linger with you and never fully leave your system 。。。more
Charlene Nasimiyu
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A moving， emotional yet inspiring read！ To anyone who's seeking to find his/her purpose， this is your book！ At the end of it all， we will all be remembered for what we stood for and sought after while we still lived。。。and while at it， remember to LIVE！！ Create memories， love， laugh。。。all this is finite。。。 there's an end。 A moving， emotional yet inspiring read！ To anyone who's seeking to find his/her purpose， this is your book！ At the end of it all， we will all be remembered for what we stood for and sought after while we still lived。。。and while at it， remember to LIVE！！ Create memories， love， laugh。。。all this is finite。。。 there's an end。 。。。more
Muneeb Hameed
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I've never read a book like this before。 It's written by a neurosurgeon who as he's approaching the peak of his career， gets diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer。 His writing takes you through his journey in real time from his entry into the medical field to him excelling in his career to his diagnosis and final moments。 It's amazing to read his perspective being so close to mortality both as a doctor and a patient。 It's authentic， perspective shifting， artfully written。 Some of my top qualities I've never read a book like this before。 It's written by a neurosurgeon who as he's approaching the peak of his career， gets diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer。 His writing takes you through his journey in real time from his entry into the medical field to him excelling in his career to his diagnosis and final moments。 It's amazing to read his perspective being so close to mortality both as a doctor and a patient。 It's authentic， perspective shifting， artfully written。 Some of my top qualities in a book。 。。。more
Istók Róbert
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Such a powerful book。。。 We live in a society， that defies to face death and pursue goals that do not matter when we are going to look back on our lives from our deathbed。 This book puts things into perspective and is a great reminder to live our life to the fullest in the present moment because this is the only thing we have。
Namista
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Tears fill my eyes as I write this review。This book was on my reading list for a couple of years， back when I still hadn't gotten into the habit of reading more non-fiction。 It's audiobook version suddenly became available 6 days ago， during a particularly difficult mental health week for me。 What can a dying neurosurgeon say to a lone Bangladeshi woman trying to build a life in Canada amidst a world-quaking pandemic？ Turns out - a lot。 Kalanithi's love for literature is steeped into his final w Tears fill my eyes as I write this review。This book was on my reading list for a couple of years， back when I still hadn't gotten into the habit of reading more non-fiction。 It's audiobook version suddenly became available 6 days ago， during a particularly difficult mental health week for me。 What can a dying neurosurgeon say to a lone Bangladeshi woman trying to build a life in Canada amidst a world-quaking pandemic？ Turns out - a lot。 Kalanithi's love for literature is steeped into his final words about striving for meaning。 Sad as it was， it made me feel hope and want to strive to live my life a little more meaningfully。 I， like many of us during this world altering year， have found it difficult to search for a meaningful existence during a time when life at large has come to a halt but kept going at the same time。 But if a man dying of cancer can find the will to look for the best way to spend his moments on earth - not in a flashy way but in a way that makes sense to him - can't you or I do the same？ Finding THE ANSWER - who am I and what do I want？ - haunts me daily。 But Kalanithi's example shows me that it doesn't have to haunt。 Perhaps thinking of it as a quest will suffice。 No matter what， I hope I can die with love surrounding me， and knowing that I tried my best。 Apart from the beautiful ode to his baby daughter， or the poignant vulnerability of his wife's epilogue， the following verse will stay with me for a long time， giving me hope:（view spoiler）[ “The tricky part of illness is that， as you go through it， your values are constantly changing。 You try to figure out what matters to you， and then you keep figuring it out。 It felt like someone had taken away my credit card and I was having to learn how to budget。 You may decide you want to spend your time working as a neurosurgeon， but two months later， you may feel differently。 Two months after that， you may want to learn to play the saxophone or devote yourself to the church。 Death may be a one-time event， but living with terminal illness is a process。” （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Deeksha
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"Be ready。 Be seated。 See what courage looks like。 See how brave it is to still live， to profoundly influence the lives of others after you are gone， by your words。"- Foreword， When Breath Becomes Air'When Breath Becomes Air' is a book about a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist's battle with a terminal disease， his attempts at understanding what constitutes a meaningful life。 It's a question that shaped Paul's life and explained some of the decisions he made。Paul starts by writing about his childho "Be ready。 Be seated。 See what courage looks like。 See how brave it is to still live， to profoundly influence the lives of others after you are gone， by your words。"- Foreword， When Breath Becomes Air'When Breath Becomes Air' is a book about a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist's battle with a terminal disease， his attempts at understanding what constitutes a meaningful life。 It's a question that shaped Paul's life and explained some of the decisions he made。Paul starts by writing about his childhood， not very different from most children who have immigrant parents。 And quickly moves on to the years he spent studying Literature at Stanford， only to find his true purpose and deciding to pursue medicine instead。 What moved me in the first half of the book wasn't Paul's brilliance or the courage required to abandon your Master's degree and start afresh。 It was reading about the drastic step taken by a doctor after an unsuccessful operation， knowing how something said without much thought had a very different meaning in a matter of a few minutes， or how the last conversation with the Doctor changes how the family of the patient remembers the patient's death。 And then it hits you。 You are prepared for it only because you know that the book is about a Nerosurgeon's battle with Cancer。 The odds of being as successful as Paul was or being diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer are both extremely low。 And then begins Paul's journey， this time not as a doctor but as a patient。 It's a physically， mentally， and emotionally tiring one。 I'm sure Paul might have wondered why it happened to him。 You're bound to ask this question as a reader。 Paul breathed his last， surrounded by his family， having spent time with his daughter， listening to his family and friends express their love and respect for him。 Paul faced his death with integrity - if that's even possible， doing everything he could to secure his wife's future and how a man who could have contributed to the field of Science and Medicine， died so young。 Death is truly unbiased， also cruel perhaps。 This book is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time。 Read it if you have the time to absorb it， to stop and ponder。 It's a short read， however not a light one。 。。。more
Sean D
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This year in my high school English class， my teacher challenged our class to chose one book to read each month。 Each book was also supposed to be a different genre and this month the genre was a memoir。 I rarely read memoirs as I usually find them somewhat long and boring。 Even so， Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air seemed different。 It was about a neurosurgeon turned patient by his long and grueling fight with lung cancer。 Plus it was a relatively short book which I believed would make i This year in my high school English class， my teacher challenged our class to chose one book to read each month。 Each book was also supposed to be a different genre and this month the genre was a memoir。 I rarely read memoirs as I usually find them somewhat long and boring。 Even so， Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air seemed different。 It was about a neurosurgeon turned patient by his long and grueling fight with lung cancer。 Plus it was a relatively short book which I believed would make it a much easier read。“You can’t ever reach perfection， but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving” From a young age， Paul Kalanithi exemplified this idea。 The book begins with Kalanithi as a young kid growing up in Arizona documenting his childhood and the growth of his love for reading。 He reads to learn about the mind， how it works and how it thinks。 But when the literature does not offer all of the answers that he is looking for， he looks at a different way of studying the mind， neuroscience。 After attending Stanford University， he goes to med school to become a neurosurgeon。 It is at the conclusion of his journey to becoming a neurosurgeon when he is diagnosed with lung cancer。 Throughout the book， he documents his experiences with death and mortality in the medical field。 He talks about how he felt becoming the patient after being a doctor for so long。 As the lung cancer progresses， he thinks about what he wants to do with the time that he has left。 He and his wife have a child together and that brings him a lot of joy。 The book ends somewhat abruptly and there is an epilogue written by Kalanithi’s wife documenting his last few days and the events leading to his untimely death。I really enjoyed reading this book。 Paul Kalanithi is an amazing writer and he incorporates a ton of figurative language and other techniques into his writing all while being able to maintain the structure and meaning of the passage。 I also enjoyed the message that he conveyed while writing this book。 He talks a lot about the concepts of life and death and what they mean depending on what side of the issues you are on。 I also liked the epilogue at the end that was written by his wife。 I feel that this was needed so the reader is able to find out what happened to him and what he went through in his last few days。I have few complaints about this book。 I didn't particularly like the foreword that was written by Abraham Verghese， I don’t think that it was necessary and it didn’t add much。 I also felt that it was a little bit hard to follow at times。 Kalanithi references many different works of literature or other things throughout the book that I had never heard of before so I think if I knew more about that stuff then I would be able to appreciate some parts of the book more。 Lastly， there was a lot of technical medical language and sometimes I had to reread parts two or three times before I fully understood what it was saying。 Overall， I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it to anyone who likes sad memoirs or is very interested in neuroscience or another medical field。 。。。more
Steven Cox
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Moving story with an important lesson about acceptance。 Written by a mid 30's neurosurgeon who， as he was rocketing to the top of his game， was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly thereafter。 It was poignant because he was dying while he was writing the book。 The biggest idea that I got from the book was that we forget all words written are done so by people who are dying， even when they don't look like it。 Moving story with an important lesson about acceptance。 Written by a mid 30's neurosurgeon who， as he was rocketing to the top of his game， was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly thereafter。 It was poignant because he was dying while he was writing the book。 The biggest idea that I got from the book was that we forget all words written are done so by people who are dying， even when they don't look like it。 。。。more
Amber
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Left me heartbroken and in awe。 Side note: Ali you have to read this book！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=When Breath Becomes Air
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=When Breath Becomes Air&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft