A review by kylita
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

5.0

This book is a must read for everyone! Dying with dignity and integrity has become something I've grown fascinated with as a work in the critical care unit of a hospital. Now that there are so many beautiful advancements within medicine, the inclination is to say "yes, push harder, let them live longer." Yet, what about the times when your brain is jelly and living a meaningful life is unattainable? Do you still keep pushing to live? This neurosurgeon, who at the end of his residency, faces one of the most fatal cancers and addresses these ideas extensively within the book. Some might find his "lack" of fighting to be morbid, but it echoed my sentiments. I would rather die, comfortably, than continue to fight an uphill battle. What is the point in being able to breathe when it isn't giving you life, when breath becomes air?

I also truly loved the epilogue written by his wife, however the reader on the audio book for her drove me insane.