Reviews tagging 'Grief'

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

52 reviews

mdwsn27's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Grief, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death, Medical content, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

whatannikareads's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

super obvious observation, but you could tell paul was really intelligent and thoughtful from his writing alone. it's kinda crazy that he wrote this in the later stages of his cancer, when it's a struggle just to breathe, let alone write a memoir. it tickled the part of my brain that is interested in science and medicine, and i appreciate that this memoir merged those two interests. i learned a lot about neuroscience and the brutal work life of neurosurgeons. and i admire that paul was so passionate about writing and literature. i think because of how intelligent he is, he lost me at some parts that got more technical and descriptive. i think he occasionally strayed from his central point and went on tangents. but the epilogue made me cry hard and feel existential. i think memoirs like this are really thought-provoking and i'd like to dive into other works in this vein.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Grief

tpeacock9's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

madamelacy's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Terminal illness

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Medical content

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

On first read in 2017: This has to be one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time now. I often find that, though I will enjoy a memoir, it doesn't really resonate with me. But this certainly did.

The entire time that I was reading this book, I was noting the similarities between my thinking and Paul's. I wish that we had been able to meet, because I think we could have had some very interesting discussions about mortality and meaning. I also found myself awed by his integrity, throughout his life as well as when he was facing death.

On 2023 reread

Overall rating: 4.75 stars

Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Perspective: 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Cancer, Death, and Medical content

Minor: Vomit and Suicide

isaarusilor's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Grief

caro6408's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Cancer

Moderate: Blood, Vomit, and Car accident

Minor: Pregnancy

serenachowna's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, and Grief

sarahbethhh's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Paul's writing style is incredibly sharp, each word chosen with such care and thought. This is an incredibly difficult and emotional read, but one I will absolutely be recommending to all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Cancer

chireadsandchill's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy