Paul Kalanithi's Memoir 'When Breath Becomes Air': A Story of Living and Dying

Chaka Hajji: I read this book in less than one week. The beautiful prose, the descriptive language and Paul’s ability to distinctly describe his final years was poignant, beautiful, emotional and taught me that I too fear death and all that comes with it. Life and death are two of the inevitable realities of our existence, and this book taught that lesson well!

United States on Jan 09, 2024

C. Davis: As someone who is currently on the same journey, I found comfort in Paul’s experiences and courage. I recommend this book for those fellow travelers who are also undergoing the same difficult path.
Remember that you can go through this with grace and humor and, most importantly, love.

United States on Jan 04, 2024

Julia Marques: As expected.

Netherlands on Jan 02, 2024

Matt Tanner: As I’ve been trying to face my own fear of death and dying, I stumbled upon this book. In 4 hours, I’ve read the entire thing without being able to put it down. My only regret, I bought the Kindle version instead of hardcover (however I now have a hardcover on order to permanently live on my book shelf).

This book is important because it’s not so much a memoir as it is an in-the-moment account of a cruel fate that is gracefully accepted. Many of us wonder how we will react when we face our certain death, this book gives you a slight taste of the rollercoaster ride I can only assume we all will face if we are fortunate/unfortunate enough to be able to know our fate.

As someone who recently had their first child, this book is heartbreaking. However, this is one (likely the only) book I’ve ever read which has allowed me to ponder what type of legacy I would like to leave. Paul’s thought process is spilled onto the page in a raw format which outlines his attempts to answer this question and with a final chapter written by his wife, I believe he achieved as much as one can.

This book is an absolute must have for anyone looking to see one man’s (valiant)...

Canada on Dec 27, 2023

Beth ODellBeth ODell: A friend recommended this book to me. I have been caring for a friend with grade 4 glioblastoma and this book has been both inspiring and heart shattering as I traverse the known truth that my friend has less time here than we had both planned. Paul’s search for meaning as a physician is amplified in my world as an “average Jane” and has impressed upon me the need to live every breath with purpose and love. This book is beautiful and you will cry because it touches deeply the root of our humanity.

United States on Dec 25, 2023

David: Der Tod ist unser aller Schicksal, aber mit Mitte 30 sein Todesurteil durch Lungenkrebs zu erfahren und trotzdem mit Mut und Realismus ( er war Hirn Chirurg) dagegen anzukämpfen und über seinen Kampf gegen Krebs und seine Gefühle zu schreiben auf eine sehr ehrliche und zugleich bewegende Weise hat mich sehr berührt. Uneingeschränkte Leseempfehlung!

Germany on Nov 28, 2023

Edoardo De Piccoli: Not the easiest read but very well worth it. Makes you think about the meaning of life

Italy on Nov 18, 2023

Guille DC: Muy emotivo. No es de Booker price pero es una historia muy emotiva aunque no se aleje del privilegio en ningún momento. Muy humano.

Spain on Aug 04, 2023

Arammil: I have a bachelors in English and was reading this as part of a Masters class.

Long story short: this is not an uplifting read and is laudable only in that it made me literally cry. Unfortunately, most people will most likely remember this book solely for its emotional strength and less for the arguments with which Kalanithi struggled to answer.

I would not recommend this book to any causal reader on its own. Perhaps as part of a course of study or other such intentional read, Otherwise I can only assume this book has received such high accolades on the strength of the emotional impact alone. To be fair, this is the first book I have ever read that made me literally cry, and I do not say this as hyperbole. I literally cried for nearly an hour, despite foreknowledge of the ending, as I slogged through the epilogue.

Kalanithi is a troubling author and the book is troubled for it. Though it isn't patently obvious, and no one would set forth to write themselves as the villain in their own memoir, I would not call Kalanithi a good person. So before I explicate that thought let me say that he is evidently, and demonstrably, intelligent as his various degrees and...

United States on Jan 23, 2017

MaggieG13: 4.5 stars

At age 36, in the last year of his neurosurgery residency, Paul Kalanithi discovered he had stage IV lung cancer. For the next 22 months, he and his wife Lucy, an internal medicine physician, awoke each day focused on living, not “living until...” When Breath Becomes Air was written largely because Dr. Kalanithi had the soul of a poet and turning to words to express any experience in life was as instinctive to him as breathing itself. His intent was that his story could aid in the healing of others and that one day his own daughter would read it and get a sense of the father she would never remember.

The book’s format, like the author’s writing style, is simple, straightforward, eloquent, and unflinchingly honest – Prologue, Part I and Part II. In the prologue, Paul describes the first step in his diagnosis, getting x-rays for his recurring severe chest pain. It was 15 months prior to the end of his residency. He could see the light at the end of the long 10-year tunnel of preparation for his work in neurosurgery. There would be wonderful opportunities to practice as well as conduct research, offer of a professorship, a huge increase in income, a...

United States on Feb 23, 2016