A review by mi7sma
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

This autobiography entails the strife of an Indian-American Neurosurgeon 'Paul Kalanthini ' who suffered from lung cancer in his late 30s while juggling the aspects of existentialism and facing death. He held a book closeby authored by Sir Thomas Browne called 'Religio Medici' which recapitulates on Paul's story since it was a spiritual account of a physician learning about humanity and humility while keeping his hubris aside for the good of his patients. Spiritualism played a great deal in this account along with an organic perspective on living life. In the end, Dr. Kalanthini faced great adversity health-wise but never backed down since he knew that it would do no good. However he accepted his fate and tried earnestly to support his wife and child to secure their futures. He cried at his prognosis,he cried at the hospital, he cried with his spouse Lucy but never gave up. In the end, the message of this book Is to live life to the fullest regardless of dire circumstances. Modern science can only do so much, but it can never replicate or measure humanity at it's core. Apart from some rlly fun medicos lingo, the book was really philosophical to say the least. Also I keep forgetting the info when I read books so imma just state My favourite term and quote. 1) psychogenic trauma 
When a patient and their family is dazed by the prognosis. 
2) You can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving. 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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings