Book Review: ‘When Breath Becomes Air,’ Dr. Paul Kalanithi

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Dr. Lucy Kalanithi and Dr. Paul Kalanithi with their daughter, Elizabeth Acadia.
Courtesy of Lucy Kalanithi

Upon finishing When Breath Becomes Air, Instantly, I posted on social media with the subject line MUST READ. It’s very rare to find Nonfiction book like this. So, I strongly recommend everyone in my life to read once.

In 2013 Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with terminal cancer when he was 36 years old. This age is very limited for many of us to make big difference in the world. But, Paul had already made the tremendous contribution in the field of medicine. His research on gene therapy consider as one of the best research in the world and helped him to win the highest research award as well. He was brilliant doctor and scientist.

Paul was a neurosurgeon by profession at Stanford University School of Medicine. He accrues two B.A.s and an M.A. in literature at Stanford, then a Master of Philosophy at Cambridge, before graduating cum laude from the Yale School of Medicine. What a talent!

This book is occupied with heavy medical terms and technicities. Must for all medical students to go through once. He presented the patient and doctor relationship in a very deep way. The book composed exactly of two parts before and after death. Paul did very amazing job presenting one of the greatest mysteries of human life, Death. He writes, “You can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.”

Paul makes the best argument in the meaning of life. He highlighted every moment of life so emotionally that bring tears to eyes. Clinical expression, professional expression, and life experiences are powerful assets that he added on his book. A child of immigrants, Paul illustrate life is all about uncertainty, but you should always ready to struggle until the last moment of human life. 

The moment I completed reading this book I simply paused for a minute and think myself, what life is all about worth of living in the face of death? No any human beings on this planet wish to die, fade away from this nature forever. Life is uncertain. Death is Certain. At the end of the book, Paul contemplates the “many moments in life where you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world”. This is exactly a ledger for his young daughter before his death. 

Book by Paul Kalanithi
Source: Internet

This book inspires a lot, whoever read it out. To me, this book is very special one and bring some nostalgic emotions whenever I turned or looked at this book. I saw the big enlarged picture of my own grandma who diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer and just passed away 6 months back.
Same way, Paul died March 9, 2015. He was only 37 years old when he left world with this beautiful book. What a loss!

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