It’s clear from his words that he always had such a passion of life and had always been someone to ponder the big questions: what’s the meaning of life? What happens when we die? Obvious this book doesn’t shy away from what happens to Paul, but the way he addresses his mortality head-on was quite something.
There are in-depth descriptions of his diagnosis and treatment but none of it felt clinical; perhaps adding to the book’s emotional feel, we are taken through those experiences while also hearing of the toll it took on Kalanithi’s life, body, friendships, and relationship.
There are in-depth descriptions of his diagnosis and treatment but none of it felt clinical; perhaps adding to the book’s emotional feel, we are taken through those experiences while also hearing of the toll it took on Kalanithi’s life, body, friendships, and relationship.
I have read a lot of medical memoirs, it being one of my favourite sub-genres of non-fiction, but I’m not actually sure I’ve ever read one published posthumously. Picking this up, I knew it would be a hard read, and I still stand by the fact you should not go into it light-heartedly, but what struck me most while reading is, tragically, how much life Kalanathi breaths into the words he writes.
9.3Sobering, Heart-breaking, Triumphant
“Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still it is never complete.”
For fans of: This is Going to Hurt, Unnatural Causes, and Brain on Fire
Review overview
CONCEPT9.5
PRACTICALITY9
ACCESSIBILITY9.5
Summary
Title: When Breath Becomes Air
Author: Paul Kalanithi
Type: Memoir
Published: 2016
Pages: 225
TW: Death, Cancer, Mention of Suicide
