When Breath Becomes Air
by Paul Kalanithi
5/5
Random House 256 pages January 12, 2016
Neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, diagnosed with terminal lung cancer at age 36, reflects on mortality, meaning, and what makes life worth living. Written in the final months of his life, it's a devastating and beautiful meditation on death and purpose.
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Jim's Review
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There's no pretending this isn't an ugly-cry book. Kalanithi's prose is luminous — the kind of writing that makes you stop mid-page and just breathe. As a doctor facing his own mortality, he asks the questions we all avoid, and his answers are gutting and gorgeous in equal measure. It's short but it'll burrow into your soul permanently. Keep tissues nearby. It's hard to get over.
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