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A review by aish_dols
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
What makes life meaningful enough to go on living? - Paul asked this question while writing this book in his final days as a doctor, a neurosurgeon, battling with stage IV lung cancer and I held on to it. Do you know why?
Simple answer is because we all know we are going to die right? Do we in fact live like death exists? In most cases no. We have our long term plans. 5-10 year plans of goals we want to smash without slowing down to realize this marathon we are running may come as a sprint where the finish line lies right ahead.
And I ask…
Is the life you’re living now meaningful that in your last days you’ll face death with integrity?
Paul Kalanithi in ‘When Breath Becomes Air’ tackles mortality deeply, wrote of what it is to be paid a visit by death after facing it in his profession for years. Imagine how small that was supposed to make him feel. A doctor turned weak by the very thing he faced everyday in trying to save lives and live a meaning life but he faced it head-on, tried to understand it and make his words that ‘have a longevity he did not’ reach us too, so we can, I suppose, know that life is to be lived with a firm purpose because really, are we going to waste this gift before our time is up?
I don’t have the words. Reading a dying man’s memoir and the epilogue written by his wife taught me so much about the mystery and importance of life and death but still I’m mesmerized. Paul was heavy on ‘choices’ and how they affect the trajectory of one’s future. What else to say? Read this book. It’s full of depth.
Simple answer is because we all know we are going to die right? Do we in fact live like death exists? In most cases no. We have our long term plans. 5-10 year plans of goals we want to smash without slowing down to realize this marathon we are running may come as a sprint where the finish line lies right ahead.
And I ask…
Is the life you’re living now meaningful that in your last days you’ll face death with integrity?
Paul Kalanithi in ‘When Breath Becomes Air’ tackles mortality deeply, wrote of what it is to be paid a visit by death after facing it in his profession for years. Imagine how small that was supposed to make him feel. A doctor turned weak by the very thing he faced everyday in trying to save lives and live a meaning life but he faced it head-on, tried to understand it and make his words that ‘have a longevity he did not’ reach us too, so we can, I suppose, know that life is to be lived with a firm purpose because really, are we going to waste this gift before our time is up?
I don’t have the words. Reading a dying man’s memoir and the epilogue written by his wife taught me so much about the mystery and importance of life and death but still I’m mesmerized. Paul was heavy on ‘choices’ and how they affect the trajectory of one’s future. What else to say? Read this book. It’s full of depth.