When Breath Becomes Air: Resilience Amid Tragedy

As an aspiring medical professional, I am deeply intrigued by the lives of healthcare workers and the emotional impact of their strenuous job. Medical personnel often go through a full spectrum of emotions, from the crushing feeling of losing a patient to the overwhelming joy and relief of saving someone beyond hope. Their stories and experiences are unique. One incredibly impactful story was of Dr. Paul Kalanithi, who battled a deadly lung cancer while practicing the demanding art of neurosurgery. When Breath Becomes Air is his autobiography that has become increasingly popular in the past few years, even being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. I have been hearing praise and appreciation for this book for a long time. When my English teacher recommended it, I finally decided to see if it was worth the read. 

When Breath Becomes Air deserved all the praise and recognition it received. It was an impactful and meaningful book, making me feel what Paul felt as a neurosurgeon while helping me understand the fleeting nature of time. Paul described his life in the medical field in a highly realistic way; he does not sugarcoat any of his experiences and details all of his thoughts, from ethical dilemmas to reflections on actions he undertook. This was an eye-opener for me and showcased how Paul deals with critical situations and how everyone’s approach may differ. While the first half of the book dealt with Paul’s journey through medicine, the second half focused on his lung cancer diagnosis and his life after. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking to see how his writing style changed throughout the book, from more practical and stoic to ardent and intense, as if he wanted to communicate all his hidden thoughts and feelings before his time ran out. Paul’s passion for literature was apparent in his writing; each passage was poetic with hidden meanings, and each word was perfectly articulated and flawlessly utilized to highlight his background. As much as his story made me feel emotional, it also inflicted a sense of motivation; seeing the way Paul, who had so many dreams and aspirations, had his life cut tragically short made me realize how fast time can travel and how I wish to make the most of the time I do have. 

Paul wrote many things that genuinely moved me, but here are some of my favorite quotes from the autobiography:

“Those burdens are what make medicine holy and wholly impossible: in taking up another’s cross, one must sometimes get crushed by the weight.”

“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.”

Overall, When Breath Becomes Air was a truly insightful and eye-opening story, taking me through Paul’s life and inevitable death. It was hilarious at times and heartbreaking at others, and so captivating I couldn’t put it down. Paul’s story has inspired me to enter the medical field more than ever. I highly recommend it to everyone looking for an impactful story, regardless of their interest in medicine. Paul was remarkable in both the medical field and literature; he was a loving husband and a passionate man, and his story was beautiful and could change the lives of many. As Paul’s wife, Lucy, wrote after his death, “What happened to Paul was tragic, but he was not a tragedy