Book Club: When Breath Becomes Air
When Breath Becomes Air is a memoir written by By Paul Kalanithi, an American neurosurgeon. He recounts his life while battling terminal lung cancer.
Book Club Star Count: 9.5/10
Great book.
When you hit age 22, you should be passed a reading list that will shape your perspective. This would be on there.
The groups main take aways isn’t legendary, but Kalanithi’s delivery is poetic. He spoke on existentialism in a romantic matter (if thats possible?) and frankly stated the options he felt life presented him.
Throughout his personal journey he highlights internal banter that is relatable and thought provoking.
So, without further ado- here are the groups main take aways:
Do what you want to do. Before you cannot do it.
Absolutely nothing is certain.
You need strong personal values to help guide you (in relationships, career decisions. Life is warped by your values — and its okay for your values to change over time).
If you do what you are meant to do, you will be successful.
I’m sure there are 768 other moments I should recognize above, but we are telling you this book is worth reading. Not to give you all the answers.
In hindsight, it’s not a great book club book. It is very introspective and there are not opinionated discussions to be had surrounding Kalanithi’s life.
Caite’s Comment: Cover to cover, you can read this in 2.5 hours. I may have read it in 3 hours because tears kept blurring my vision. As someone who has had (non-terminal) cancer, this book hit in a way I didn’t know I needed to digest my past. I felt like Kalanithi was able to replicate the emotions of the patient and the supporters throughout a cancer journey. Really well done.
Up Next: Spare by Prince Harry meeting on February 21, 2023.
BTW- sure its great cover art, but these are all the books we’ve read so far. Join in on the fun and respond to my newsletter if you want to be included for the next book debrief!
