When Breath Becomes Air

**THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER**

'Rattling. Heartbreaking. Beautiful.' Atul Gawande, bestselling author of Being Mortal

What makes life worth living in the face of death?

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.

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.

'A vital book about dying. Awe-inspiring and exquisite. Obligatory reading for the living' Nigella Lawson

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Published Jan 5, 2017

228 pages

Average rating: 7.89

776 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

KikiStoneCreek
Jun 03, 2023
10/10 stars
Absolutely beautiful writing. Something of profound value on every page, yet book reads so easily. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
AdriaWilson
Apr 15, 2025
8/10 stars
When Breath Becomes Air is a beautifully tragic yet analytical examination of human suffering and how it can reveal deeper truths about life’s purpose. Despite his immense success as a student and neurosurgery resident, Dr. Kalanithi was not without flaws. The clinical and, at times, detached tone he used to recount his life, diagnosis, and impending death reflected his internal struggle between his roles as doctor and patient. His journey was one of relinquishing control over his terminal illness while reclaiming agency over his core values and identity. Yet, in the end, he couldn’t help but write about his own sickness and experience as a patient in the voice of a clinical surgeon. His words reflected those of a deeply academic man, someone whose life up until his diagnosis had been dedicated to long-term goals and the pursuit of intellectual growth, now grappling with mortality and forced to distill that lifelong ambition down to his daily intentions and presence. His wife's epilogue made me cry so hard. So hard.
Bookbug1111
Apr 05, 2025
10/10 stars
Loved the way he portrayed the clinical life but ending is not for light hearted.
wardbunch
Mar 26, 2025
10/10 stars
Wish the journey did not have to end. Poignant and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Loved it.
Lauralee🧚‍♀️
Mar 25, 2025
10/10 stars
The epilogue was breathtaking and made me teary-eyed!

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