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When Breath Becomes Air

The powerful and moving memoir of a doctor, the global bestseller

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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

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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 work has enlightened the soul and mind. It brings to our attention the beauty of the life.

Remarkable

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A very Honest and Moving memoir of reflecting purpose of life and death in a very intriguing narrative

Amazing

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The depth of understanding, tumultuous internal struggle with morality and strength of Dr. Kalanithi is inspiration in itself!

Sublime expression

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near to death experience.. emotional read..tears roll down during last chapter.. make you brave to face death

emotional read

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Don't just read this book. Feel it. place your self in author's place. Live his life through his words.
You will learn. You will realise. Some day we all have to experience it. Get prepared.

He was not only an extraordinary doctor but also a very good author and story teller. After reading this book, you will know what it takes to be a good neuro surgeon. how unpredictable life is. And how it feels to face death.

Step in Dr Paul's shoes For life changing wisdom

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