When Breath Becomes Air Book Review

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For fans of: This is Going to Hurt, Unnatural Causes, and Brain on Fire

Written after his diagnosis with lung cancer, When Breath Becomes Air is the incredibly sobering memoir from Paul Kalanithi who died in 2015 of the disease. Having questioned what he wanted to do with his life, Paul eventually settles on a career as a neurosurgeon, with dreams to also one day write as well. But after he is diagnosed aged just 36, he can feel time running out, and while this brings him a whole new perspective on questions he’s been pondering his whole life, he wants to find the time to tell his story too.

I have read a lot of medical memoirs, it being one of my favourite sub-genres of non-fiction, but I’m not actually sure I’ve ever read one published posthumously. Picking this up, I knew it would be a hard read, and I still stand by the fact you should not go into it light-heartedly, but what struck me most while reading is, tragically, how much life Kalanathi breaths into the words he writes.

It’s clear from his words that he always had such a passion of life and had always been someone to ponder the big questions: what’s the meaning of life? What happens when we die? Obvious this book doesn’t shy away from what happens to Paul, but the way he addresses his mortality head-on was quite something.

There are in-depth descriptions of his diagnosis and treatment but none of it felt clinical; perhaps adding to the book’s emotional feel, we are taken through those experiences while also hearing of the toll it took on Kalanithi’s life, body, friendships, and relationship.

A book that is ironically, more about life and human connection than any memoir I’ve read, this is painful and tough, but full of so much joy too. I’m sure many people have read this and felt a personal connection to Paul, and while he died so tragically young, I’m so glad he was able to leave a legacy which felt raw enough to be authentically him.