When Breath Becomes Air: The ultimate moving life-and-death story

Paul Kalanithi

Feb 2016 · Random House

About this eBook

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER**

'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful,' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal

What makes life worth living in the face of death?

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.

Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson

Ratings and reviews

I remain ambivalent with this title. First half of the book focused on setting the character's struggle with life and ambition. A bit dragging, and I think could be further simplified or shortened. The second half of it made me read on a faster pace. I find this part as a reinvigorating inspiration on what living life really is, one that is faced with poignant uncertainty of facing death and helplessness. Try to scurry your way into this part of Paul's (and Lucy's) narration.

Read the sample. Im sure its a great book an can see why. But why did i have to chance upon this when ive stopped believing in the healthcare profession especially in the high and mighty god like hospital specialties. Unfortunately for me the take home message is life is short, accolades dont matter. No one is God or better than anyone based on titles. A doctor's role is to help and contribute to society so let us stay humble

This book must be turned into a film – move aside "The Fault in Our Stars," because this is a genuine love story. However, there were certain aspects in the medical world that I struggled to come to terms with. How can anyone, even a doctor, be tasked with making judgment calls when it involves a fellow human being grappling with life and death?

About the author

PAUL KALANITHI was a neurosurgeon and writer. He held degrees in English literature, human biology, and history and philosophy of science and medicine from Stanford and Cambridge universities before graduating from Yale School of Medicine. He also received the American Academy of Neurological Surgery’s highest award for research.

His reflections on doctoring and illness have been published in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Paris Review Daily.

Kalanithi died in March 2015, aged 37. He is survived by his wife, Lucy, and their daughter, Elizabeth Acadia.