Title: When Breath Becomes Air
Author: Paul Kalanithi
Publisher: Random House, 208 pages
Publication Date: January 12, 2016
Genre: Memoir, Autobiography
GOOD. READ.
Things that I liked:
- Short, but powerful
- Very well-written and flows exactly how you'd want it to
- Amazing (and true) story
- Even if it hadn't ended tragically, this would still be a good read. Sometimes the tragedy makes the book, and in this case it adds to it but the story stands well on its own
Things that I didn't like:
- Well... it has a very sad ending
It's no secret that the author of this memoir dies at the end of the book... they put it right there in the forward. Kalanithi is a neurosurgeon who is JUST finishing his residency when he is diagnosed with cancer. He is young and completely full of promise, and just like that, everything is gone. It's a terribly tragic story that moves you in ways that you cannot forget. This is a painful reminder that nothing in life is promised, not even for neurosurgeons who have their entire careers in front of them. One of the most moving aspects of the story is watching a young and confident neurosurgeon become a weak and scared patient.
Is this a book that I would recommend? Yes. This would be a great biography, like I said, even without the tragic ending. Kalanithi's telling of his childhood and struggles through school and residency (and personal life) are interesting to read and stand just fine on their own. I can't think of anyone who WOULDN'T like this book.
Five stars.
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