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skz0424's review against another edition
5.0
Woah. Finished this book in one day. I knew how it was going to end and was still sobbing. It’s a heavy book but so powerful.
kirsten0929's review against another edition
4.0
Four stars for admiration. Hard to imagine anything worse than receiving the diagnosis he received at the time in his life that he received it. Came across as just wanting to put to good use his passion for writing to share, to educate, to help others understand. Feels like he only scratched the surface on some of, to me, maybe the most interesting issues, for instance, how he decided how to use the time he had left, how to figure out what he valued most, what it all meant to him with this new perspective. Would have loved to hear him expound on those ideas. Of course, had he had unlimited time he might have done so. Have the tissues handy when you get to the epilogue written by his wife.
didireadthat's review against another edition
4.0
This was an amazing book; the plot is engaging, and the prose is well written. The story itself is incredible and I think the personality of the author really came through I felt like I knew him well by the end of the book. But the epilogue was the most emotional part and the part of the book that made me turn all of Kalanithi's thoughts inward and start thinking about my own perspective on death.
Minus a star because it felt like it was missing a huge part of the story, and the epilogue made me realize what it was - the rest of his personality. The whole premise was that the author suddenly had to come to terms with his own morality. So, he spends the first half of the book relaying his life before the diagnoses building up the lens through which he sees death so that the reader can understand his perspective and then the second half is about dealing with it. But the whole book is about his medical career and his dream to retire and become a writer. And I understand that with the demanding hours of being a neurosurgeon-scientist he probably didn't have time for much else. But what about his wife, his family, his other collogues? What about his "wicked sense of humor"? what about the rest of his life that was not just reading, med school and residency? The medical side of things was really interesting no doubt but I wanted more.
Minus a star because it felt like it was missing a huge part of the story, and the epilogue made me realize what it was - the rest of his personality. The whole premise was that the author suddenly had to come to terms with his own morality. So, he spends the first half of the book relaying his life before the diagnoses building up the lens through which he sees death so that the reader can understand his perspective and then the second half is about dealing with it. But the whole book is about his medical career and his dream to retire and become a writer. And I understand that with the demanding hours of being a neurosurgeon-scientist he probably didn't have time for much else. But what about his wife, his family, his other collogues? What about his "wicked sense of humor"? what about the rest of his life that was not just reading, med school and residency? The medical side of things was really interesting no doubt but I wanted more.
charitymonroe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
jennbliven's review against another edition
5.0
If you are looking for a good, by the pool, summer read, pick something else, this isn't the one. If you are ready to get deep and intimate with your own mortality, and probably some ugly crying, then this is the book for you. I tend to skim when the writing is more prose than plot, so I'm glad I listened to the audio book that forced me to be present. Definitely worth the read, but you might want to pick the right time.
reader_divya123's review against another edition
Beautiful book on undeterred spirit for life. Hard read.
ejohnson14's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
triciadea's review against another edition
5.0
This book. Oh my heck. It wrecked me. I was mostly fine until the epilogue. I highly recommend this book, along with a box of tissues for the end.