When Breath Becomes Air

I did not want my take on the title for this beautiful and poignant memoir by Dr Paul Kalanithi

Death and fear go hand in hand. 

But, this book is all about life.

Living life knowing its not going to last for long. Stark reality of mortality.

"There must be a way, I thought, that the language of life as experienced – – of passion, hunger, of love – – bore some relationship, however convoluted, to the language of neurons, digestive tracks, and heartbeats."

That made the man.

A passion for literature and science well meshed into a life of surgery. The most complex of it all- the brain. 

So well written, about his early days, his need to understand the reason for life, the path taken towards being the best neurosurgeon.

His hopes and ambitions,

Ignoring the early symptoms, maybe because he had a premonition about it all?

The severe illness which shatters his life and those around him.

The support that makes it possible to pull through and have hope left.

The passionate pursuing of a life he dreamt of, not giving up knowing death was close.

The sudden realisation of how immune he had become as a doctor to his patients' pain and suffering until he becomes one- helpless and in need of someone else's belief. 

Reading the book reminded me of a friend who went through cancer and his fighting back at every step. 

How friends and family and a new born baby were his strength and hope. 

Reminded me of my days and nights spent in a hospital alongside my mom who had undergone surgery to remove cancerous cells from her pancreas and intestines. The Whipple procedure being explained to me to help me understand why recovery can take time. 

The memoir is about living, preparing for death, yet staying alive.

How to smile through adversity, enjoying every single day that you have with your loved ones.

Breathing even if slow and laborious is still being alive. Smiling through the pain.

When that breath becomes life for the one's left behind. 

Live the life you have... today. Make it memorable, make it meaningful. Live a life of gratitude. 

“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.” -Paul Kalanithi