When Breath Becomes Air

I promise that you cannot complete this book and then put it out of your mind….

The clear fact that this book’s author was such a bright polymath contributes to its enormous influence. It’s not all maudlin. There is no exaggeration.

“It’s just tragic enough and just imaginable enough,” he wrote in a letter to a friend. And just significant enough to not be missed.

— The New York Times’ Janet Maslin “When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi’s book, is inevitably depressing because it was written while he was dealing with a fatal cancer diagnosis. However, it’s a poignant and introspective narrative of family, medicine, and literature that is well worth the emotional effort. Despite its somber tone, it is unintentionally inspirational.

—The Post in Washington “In addition to sharing his story, Kalanithi uses the pages of this book to share his thoughts on how to face death with grace and what it means to be fully alive.”

— James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, the #1 New York Times bestselling book When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi’s posthumous memoir, has the solemnity and insight of an old Greek tragedy. The book is filled with enlightening thoughts on death, which are particularly moving from a medical professional who knows what is ahead….

—The Globe of Boston “Awesome and amazing… [Kalanithi] is so likable, so relatable, and so modest that you lose yourself in his world and forget where it’s all going.”

—USA Today “What makes When Breath Becomes Air so unique—and so terrible…. is [Kalanithi’s] unaffected attitude. The book’s sole flaw is that, like his life, it ends far too soon.

— Weekly Entertainment “The beauty of [When Breath Becomes Air] split my head open.”

—Cheryl Strayed “The too-young Dr. Kalanithi’s memoir is heartbreaking, harrowing, and ultimately beautiful, proving that the dying have the most to teach us about life.”

—Atul Gawande We who have never met Paul Kalanithi will be able to both lament his passing and gain from his life because of When Breath Becomes Air. I would suggest this book to everyone; it’s one of the few that I believe to be a universal donor.

—Ann Patchett “Dr. Kalanithi explains his journey from a helpless medical student to a professional, aloof, and all-powerful neurosurgeon to a defenseless patient who is dying of cancer in a straightforward, self-pity-free manner. Written by a member of our own tribe, this book is a must-read for all doctors because it explains and helps us to get past the barriers we put up between ourselves and our patients as soon as we graduate from medical school.