When Breath Becomes Air
An Unlikely Selection
You could certainly say that When Breath Becomes Air would have been an unlikely choice for me… still, I found the book beyond captivating. I had visited the local bookstore to acquire something on the “lighter” side, considering my current workload and upcoming holiday weekend. Having expressed the genres of books that I had been reading throughout the challenge, the owner felt compelled to break me out of the “bubble” that I had put myself in and presented this memoir as an option. Having seen that Atul Gawande, the author of The Checklist Manifesto had a featured testimony on the back cover, I thought to myself, “I’ll take this as a sign” and made my decision.
Plucking Away at Heartstrings
As stated, this was an unlikely selection for me. Regardless, I would not have anticipated that it would evoke the emotional response it did. It literally brought tears to my eyes on multiple occasions. These were not tears of sadness, more so the type of tears that accompany a deep sense of love and belonging – so deep that it is overwhelming resulting in tears, laughter, or some odd combination of the two. Without divulging key details of the story, I will simply state that although I may not have battled cancer, I was still capable of empathizing and connecting to my own mortality – finding gratitude for all that I have and left inspired to make the most of the time that remains, as uncertain as it may be.
A few of my favorite quotes from the book!
If the unexamined life was not worth living, was the unlived life with examining?Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
Moral speculation was puny compared to moral action.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
Putting lifestyle first is how you find a job – not a calling.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
When there’s no place for the scalpel, words are the surgeon’s only tool.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
I came to believe that it is irresponsible to be more precise than you can be accurate.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
What kind of life exists without language?Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
You can’t ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
The word hope first appeared in English about a thousand years ago, denoting some combination of confidence and desire. But what I desired – life – was not what I was confident about – death.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
I can’t go on, I’ll go on.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
Knowing that even if I’m dying, until I actually die, I am still living.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
The tricky part of illness is that, as you go through it, your values are constantly changing.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way, they belong to the past.Paul Kalanithi : When Breath Becomes Air
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