“WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR” By PAUL KALANITHI

“This book left me in tears”- BILL GATES.

A perfect package of emotions compiled to words is the indelible ‘WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR’ an autobiography by Paul Kalanithi. His life etched in engaging words inspiring us to live a cheerful life before our death peep in. ‘WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR’ makes you ponder your mortality and protrudes the thought of self-introspection. When you grab this book, prepare to answer yourself about your life.

It’s a memoir by the great neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi who saved thousands of lives during his tenure, cognizes his death approaching in the form of terminal stage IV lung cancer. As a doctor he knew what laid ahead.

“Over the last six years, I’d examined scores of such scans, on the off chance that some procedure might benefit the patient. But this scan was different; It was my own”

One day a doctor and another day becomes a patient. At the young age of 36 with about 22 months left in hand, he decided to switch from a patient to a writer. He decided to answer, ‘what makes life worth living?’. No clue how he decided to write a book dealing with cancer and potent chemotherapy. Paul and his life are a synonym for courage.

He describes his sixth year as a resident doctor with an extremely busy schedule, where he discovers to take care of his patients physically and emotionally. When he decided to live his life peacefully outside the busy operation theatre, his chest hurt, his muscles cramped and was forced to learn to deal with death yet, accepted it gracefully.  Lucy Kalanithi, Paul’s wife was also a doctor whom he met during his course of study, fell in love, and married. Both decided on having a baby after Paul’s six-year residence.

Despite diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, Paul and his wife mutually decided to have a baby, Cady. Cady brought the little bundle of joy and light to their lives. Those few months with Cady, was his analgesic. Kalanithi had survived by his wife, Lucy, and their daughter, Elizabeth Acadia.  He wrote ‘WHEN BREATH BESOMES AIR’ for Cady, the greatest joy of his life.

Spring rolled in; Paul witnessed his last days. With inadequate oxygen supply, he was hospitalized and was given a BIPAP machine, but no improvement preceded. Instead of the next step of putting on a ventilator and worrying about the sickness caused by it, Paul chose comfort care. He decided to die, he told Lucy he was ready for it. Bidding goodbye to his family and with Cady on his chest. He took his last breath. Flipping through the pages, tears rolled down my cheeks. Lucy’s epilogue choked every reader.

Though Paul worked on his book tirelessly he couldn’t carry out, with the pain caused by chemotherapy and his ailment, the memoir was ultimately concluded by Lucy. She was grateful for having been a part of Paul’s meaningful life and extends her gratitude to every person in their lives and to the readers.

In brief ‘WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR’ unlocked my heart and assisted me lead a purposeful life worth living. It offers a clarity on what life means with Paul’s lyrical language. There is indeed a certainty on death, an act we must embrace and respect whether it’s happening to us or someone else.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Highly talented, Paul Kalanithi holds degrees in English literature, human biology, history and philosophy of science and medicine from Stanford and Cambridge universities. Earlier he graduated from Yale School of Medicine. Kalanithi was a student of life, and a teacher to readers to lead a purposeful life. A neurosurgeon who comforted his patients physically and emotionally. A doctor and a patient who experienced both those lives and the link that persists between them. A new father who cherished his daughter with all he could and felt contentment in those tiny little hands.

Lucy Kalanithi was also a doctor whom he met during his study. She became an irreplaceable part in Paul’s life, supporting him through the great and difficult days. She gave everything she could, without expecting anything in return, a gift of a loved one.

Paul’s father was a cardiologist who probably would have inspired him to enter the field of medical science. His mother strived to provide the best possible education and installed the love towards literature in Paul.

An excellent writer who made his paragraphs fly, our eyes wet and taught us the lesson of life. He also wrote essays for THE NEWYORK TIMES, THE PARIS REVIEW and STANFORD MEDICINE, while diagnosed with cancer.

His book ‘WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR’ is awarded honored with the GOODREADS CHOICE WINNER, PULITZER PRIZE and much more.