Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

100 reviews

leahgustafson's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

I put off reading this one longer than I should have because I wasn’t sure I was in the right emotional headspace. However, this book is about so much more than cancer and a life cut short. It’s actually really about life!
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I love how, from early on, Paul Kalanithi is interested in the human experience. I think it’s interesting how he explores this from so many different perspectives—literature, medicine, neurosurgery, etc. I also enjoyed hearing about his experiences in medical school and his discoveries (through his roles as BOTH a doctor and a patient) about the importance of building relationships.
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Kalanithi’s vulnerable account of his diagnosis and journey with cancer is extremely reflective and really explores what it means to live a full and meaningful life. While it’s too bad that he was unable to finish this book, I really think the ending, written by his wife, is the perfect touch to end this book. It instills a message of hope and allows everything he embodied to live on.
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This book reminds me a lot of The Last Lecture. I read that one many, many years ago, and it may be time to revisit it because these two would make great companion texts!
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Check out what I'm reading next on Instagram @LeahsLitReview!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Grief

shxndrareads's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Cancer, and Vomit

sarah_hutchins's review

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Suicide

cherie17's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Death

333amreen's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

VERY INSIGHTFUL!!! not just into a doctor's life and their relationship with their patients & their confrontation with life and death everyday! But also, into HIS life, Paul's beautiful life & his philosophies that were astounding. Overall, an emotional ride, especially the latter part!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Medical content, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Vomit

garyosu's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

guinness74's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I think this book’s importance might be understated. Kalanithi’s life and death (I really don’t think that’s a spoiler at this point) are the focal point, but it’s his observance of death and how to go about it from both the perspective of doctor and patient that are the most valuable in this book. That’s not to say it isn’t emotional and, at times, hard to read…it is. But, it is a sort of blueprint of the process of dying and having a life experience worth sharing on the way out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Vomit, Terminal illness, and Death

brecklyn's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This is outside of my normal genre, but I really enjoyed his reflections on life, and philosophy and his perspective on death. I did not find it too sad, but it was definitely moving and poignant. 

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Cancer and Death

aploinard's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, and Death

jchudson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

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