9780812988406-081298840X-When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air

ISBN-13: 9780812988406
ISBN-10: 081298840X
Edition: 1
Author: Paul Kalanithi
Publication date: 2016
Publisher: Random House
Format: Hardcover 228 pages
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Book details

ISBN-13: 9780812988406
ISBN-10: 081298840X
Edition: 1
Author: Paul Kalanithi
Publication date: 2016
Publisher: Random House
Format: Hardcover 228 pages

Summary

When Breath Becomes Air (ISBN-13: 9780812988406 and ISBN-10: 081298840X), written by authors Paul Kalanithi, was published by Random House in 2016. With an overall rating of 5.0 stars, it's a notable title among other Medical (Professionals & Academics, Consciousness & Thought, Philosophy, Death, Sociology) books. You can easily purchase or rent When Breath Becomes Air (Hardcover) from BooksRun, along with many other new and used Medical books and textbooks. And, if you're looking to sell your copy, our current buyback offer is $0.44.

Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • PULITZER PRIZE FINALIST • This inspiring, exquisitely observed memoir finds hope and beauty in the face of insurmountable odds as an idealistic young neurosurgeon attempts to answer the question What makes a life worth living?

NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST MEMOIRS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • People • NPR • The Washington Post • Slate • Harper’s Bazaar • Time Out New York • Publishers Weekly • BookPage

Finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Creative Nonfiction and the Books for a Better Life Award in Inspirational Memoir

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.

Paul Kalanithi died in March 2015, while working on this book, yet his words live on as a guide and a gift to us all. “I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything,” he wrote. “Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: ‘I can’t go on. I’ll go on.’” When Breath Becomes Air is an unforgettable, life-affirming reflection on the challenge of facing death and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a brilliant writer who became both.

Reader reviews

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1 - 3 of 3 reviews

Verified Buyer
Oct 28, 2023

Absolutely loved the book. A real paper turner. It was beautifully written from beginning to end. It had me full of emotions and sometimes questioning my own mortality.

Verified Buyer
May 18, 2023

This book made me cry both times I read it. The author was both courageous and practical; yet hopeful as he looked forward. The book reads easily and pulls in the audience.

Verified Buyer
Jun 08, 2021

When Breath Becomes Air is an extraordinary book. The decision to write his story, the effort required to see the writing through to the literal end, and the message from the author are all remarkable. The story and the articulation from the author are potentially life changing for any reader. A normal life is seemingly full of one irritation after another, but reading this book puts perspective on all these typically trivial matters and helps the reader to reassess and set priorities for their life.

The organization of the book follows a logical and compelling description of the authors life, challenges, and struggles.

There are no technical criticisms to assign to this book. The story is emotional and a reader should be prepared for this.