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When Breath Becomes Air

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When Breath Becomes Air

Written by: Paul Kalanithi
Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra, Lucy Kalanithi
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, the next he was a patient struggling to live.

When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a medical student asking what makes a virtuous and meaningful life into a neurosurgeon working in the core of human identity – the brain – and finally into a patient and a new father.

What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when when life is catastrophically interrupted? What does it mean to have a child as your own life fades away?

Paul Kalanithi died while working on this profoundly moving book, yet his words live on as a guide to us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.

'Finishing this book and then forgetting about it is simply not an option...Unmissable' New York Times

© Paul Kalanithi 2016 (P) Penguin Audio 2016

 Cancer Death & Dying Death & Grief Medical Physical Illness & Disease Professionals & Academics Relationships Self-Help Sociology

Critic Reviews

A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living. (Nigella Lawson)
Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful. (Atul Gawande, author of BEING MORTAL)
A great, indelible book ... as intimate and illuminating as Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal,” to cite only one recent example of a doctor’s book that has had exceptionally wide appeal ... I guarantee that finishing this book and then forgetting about it is simply not an option ... gripping from the start ... None of it is maudlin. Nothing is exaggerated. As he wrote to a friend: “It’s just tragic enough and just imaginable enough.” And just important enough to be unmissable.
Powerful and poignant.
Less a memoir than a reflection on life and purpose… A vital book.
Extraordinary...Remarkable... luminous, revelatory memoir about mortality and what makes being alive meaningful ... Lyrical, intimate, insistent and profound. Kalanithi had the mind of the polymath and the ear of a poet.
Powerful and poignant… Elegantly written posthumous memoir… Should be compulsory for anyone who intends to be a doctor… A profound reflection on the meaning of life.
A stark, fascinating, well-written and heroic memoir. (Stefanie Marsh)
Exceptional. (Katie Law)
When I came to the end of the last flawless paragraph of When Breath Becomes Air, all I could do was turn to the first page and read the whole thing again. Searingly intelligent, beautifully written, and beyond brave, I haven't been so marked by a book in years. (Gabriel Weston, author of DIRECT RED)
All stars
Most relevant
The fight of doctor against Cancer.
The doctor patient and patient (doctor) doctor discussions, decisions are heart breaking.
Death as seen by Doctor and Patient is the main focus of this book.
A really good shoet read.

An Heartbreaking tragedy

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Absolutely loved this book. Paul is a man worth emulating and his story is very inspiring. Loved the words and loved the way the actors captured the emotion so accurately. Thank you Paul and Lucy for this book.

Inspiring lifestory

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Must read till end, It makes us contemplate on the meaning of life, and feel grateful.
if a suffering person can contribute so much to society then why not us?

Thought Provoking

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This book helped me understand the true and an important meaning if one's given time and life, at this moment that's at hand. His bravery, his willingness to do what he wanted, his excellence at what he did inspires me to core. Thank you!

Amazing at its fullest!

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Truly exceptional description of life and death. PAUL KALANITHI was a gem of a doc and writer. His dream of science, philosophy and conscience have truly intersected in this piece.

Exceptional

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