When Breath Becomes Air

Description:

Theme:

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, explores the themes of facing death with the idea that even when dying, you can still find joy and purpose in life. In this section, he deals with the fact that his time is running out, and the things that mattered.

Summary:

It tells the incredible story of Paul Kalanithi, a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist who was diagnosed with and died from cancer in his mid-thirties. These blinks detail his extraordinary journey in search of the meaning of life in the face of death.

Famous Quotes:

“Shouldn’t terminal illness, then, be the perfect gift to that young man who had wanted to understand death?”

“Here you are, violating society’s most fundamental taboos (cadaver dissection), and yet formaldehyde is a powerful appetite stimulant, so you also crave a burrito.”

“The days are long, but the years are short.”

“If the unexamined life was not worth living, was the unlived life worth examining?”

“As a resident, my highest ideal was not saving lives—everyone dies eventually—but guiding a patient or family to an understanding of death or illness.”

“Well, I guess I learned one thing: if I’m ever feeling down about my work, I can always talk to a neurosurgeon to cheer myself up.”

“Even if I’m dying, until I actually die, I am still living.”

“Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still it is never complete.”

“There is a moment, a cusp, when the sum of gathered experience is worn down by the details of living. We are never so wise as when we live in this moment.”

“I knew medicine only by its absence—specifically, the absence of a father growing up, one who went to work before dawn and returned in the dark to a plate of reheated dinner.”

“It’s very easy to be number one: find the guy who is number one, and score one point higher than he does.”

“Being with patients in these moments certainly had its emotional cost, but it also had its rewards. I don’t think I ever spent a minute of any day wondering why I did this work, or whether it was worth it.”

Literary awards:

1. Pulitzer Prize Nominee for Biography or Autobiography (2017)
2. Wellcome Book Prize Nominee (2017)
3. Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography (2016)
4. Waterstones Book of the Year Nominee (2016)
5. Prix Jan Michalski Nominee for Longlist (2017)
6. Book of the Month Book of the Year Award Nominee (2016)

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