When Breath Becomes Air

| 4.53 | 755,736 ratings and reviews

Recommended by Bill Gates, Ryan Holiday, Bethany S. Mandel, and 5 others. See all reviews

Ranked #1 in Nursing, Ranked #1 in 2016 — see more rankings.

At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the... more
Read Full Book Summary Buy on Amazon

Want to learn the key points of "When Breath Becomes Air" in 21 minutes?

Get a full book summary of When Breath Becomes Air by signing up for Shortform.

Shortform summaries help you learn 10x faster by:

  • Being 100% comprehensive: you learn the most important points in the book
  • Cutting out the fluff: you don't spend your time wondering what the author's point is.
  • Interactive exercises: apply the book's ideas to your own life with our educators' guidance.
READ FULL SUMMARY OF WHEN BREATH BECOMES AIR

Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of When Breath Becomes Air from the world's leading experts.

Bill Gates CEO/MicrosoftI don’t know how Kalanithi found the physical strength to write this book while he was so debilitated by the disease and then potent chemotherapy. But I’m so glad he did. He spent his whole brief life searching for meaning in one way or another -- through books, writing, medicine, surgery, and science. I’m grateful that, by reading this book, I got to witness a small part of that journey. I just wish the journey hadn’t been cut so short (Source)

Ryan Holiday AuthorDespite its popularity, When Breath Becomes Air is actually underrated. It’s make-you-cry good. (Source)

Bethany S. Mandel More Shabbat reading recommendations: This book was breathtaking and such a powerful advertisement for the joy of parenthood. https://t.co/V8BH97eiL9 (Source)

Sunil Chhetri So this is book 1 of 4 that I'm picking from what is an unbelievable list of suggestions from all you fantastic people! I feel we take a lot of life for granted which is why I'm going with this one. Thanks, Tanvi. https://t.co/0VBXqP1DXa (Source)

Tracy Osborn Reminded me that life could end in an instant and that I need to focus on living, not working. (Source)

Rankings by Category

When Breath Becomes Air is ranked in the following categories:

Similar Books

If you like When Breath Becomes Air, check out these similar top-rated books:

Learn: What makes Shortform summaries the best in the world?

Learn More