When breath becomes air / Paul Kalanithi ; foreword by Abraham
Verghese

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE
WASHINGTON POST • THE NEW YORK TIMES • NPR

We have all heard of or experienced a situation where a doctor has
ignored the concerns of a patient and refused thorough testing. That is what happened to 35 year old Paul
Kalanithi despite the fact that he was a physician himself, in training to be a
neurosurgeon and possessing several other degrees as well. He saw a doctor because with his weight loss
and severe back pain, he suspected that he had cancer. An x-ray would not show abnormalities as well
as an MRI, but an x-ray is what the doctor insisted upon. This test was normal. Continuing to be in discomfort, Kalanithi
took painkillers in order to function and a few weeks later he developed
extreme chest pain. Tests now showed that
his lungs were riddled with tumors and these had spread to other areas of his
body. He now became a patient.

This book is very, very good and is intelligently written. It’s remarkable in the way it shows the
journey of a physician through education, training and treatment of patients,
and a patient’s journey through diagnosis, receiving treatment and finally
having to make decisions for end-of-life care.
The most poignant sections of the book are when the author had to
re-assess the goals he had in life and realize his life objectives have changed. He was fortunate throughout to have the
support of his wife, also a physician, and his family. For a smaller book, it has lots to think
about.

Booklist review: “Can life remain full and
rewarding even while one is living under a death sentence? This is the question
now-deceased neurosurgeon Kalanithi asked himself after receiving a late-stage
lung cancer diagnosis. Newly married and almost ready to complete his
residency, at 34 Kalanithi was faced with a momentous decision: Should he
continue with a promising medical career, or fall back on his first love of
writing while taking care of his health? Fortunately for the readers of this
moving memoir, he decided to do both. Kalanithi describes his life-changing
decision to set aside the pursuit of a doctorate in literature in favor of
attending medical school and then recounts the discovery and progress of his
illness, along with the inevitable upheaval in his personal life. A precious
highlight here is the heartrending epilogue penned by his wife, Lucy, following
Kalanithi's passing shortly after she became pregnant. This eloquent, heartfelt
meditation on the choices that make life worth living, even as death looms,
will prompt readers to contemplate their own values and mortality.”