When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi - Scott Bowling

 


I find it more difficult to do these reviews when you read over a long period of time. It seems that the emotion of the book wanes as the time between reading sessions lengthen. It's either that or this book just didn't do it for me to keep my interest elevated. It's an interesting book from the perspective of basically a genius (I just had to spell check genius) neuroscientist who at the beginning helps people face death which eventually he has to face himself as he gets diagnosed with a deadly cancer. The first quarter of the book breaks down how he got the point of being a neuroscientist. Honestly the book started slow and slowly gets stronger as it goes on. He discusses the hours he work and honestly I'm not sure if he's full of crap but it sounded like he would sleep like 4 hours a night and work 100 hours or so a week. If I sleep less than 8 hours I feel like a zombie so I'm not sure if he is built different or if all of his energy is dumped into working while I have other interests. Another take away from the book is basically that he's a genius. No matter how you slice it the guy is just brilliant. Life seems to be 99% percent genetics. Sure it takes hard work but I mean come on. The author of Grit can fight me. 


The deepest part of the story is how he faces the news of getting a deadly cancer diagnosis. Of course its cool to hear that he pushed on and kept trying to work but honestly the coolest part is that you are getting his stream of consciousness in his last years/months/days/hours. I didn't feel much sadness but I felt a lot of fragility about life which I enjoy feeling. It makes you appreciate the days that you have where things are alright. His wife adds her thoughts at the end which I did enjoy. He was surrounded by loved ones and genuine people that loved him. Again of course it was sad but I think he was lucky to have such people around him. To know that you were such a good husband/man/doctor that people think of you or are still sad about your passing after you have died. That's a very lucky and fortune thing to have in ones life.


The book was alright, I don't think I'd recommend it to everyone but it is interesting if you are looking to read about facing death.



Comments

  1. BbowlingJanuary 8, 2025 at 10:56 AM

    Hard to find a good book these days; yeah genetics matter some

    ReplyDelete

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