When writing hits home- a review on the book "When Breath Becomes Air"

 When writing hits home

It’s a gaping gap between nonfiction- the world of boring words and self-help- and me- a person who is almost addicted to the juicy world of fiction. And I had been commanded to traverse this chasm, by sitting through a memoir with a minimalist cover, which carries the melodramatic name “When Breath Becomes Air”, written by Dr. Paul Kalanithi.

And now I’m thankful I undertook this journey, for, this book surpassed anything I’ve ever read. I made no effort to sit through it. I was pulled into its vortex the moment I started reading. 

The book has been written by a dying man- and nothing, in my opinion, can ever match his precious words. Dr. Paul seamlessly juggles with life and death, as if they were child’s play. He makes the process of getting diagnosed with a terminal illness sound sad- and not depressing. He repeatedly reiterates that that is what life is- it has to end someday.

What I really loved about his book is that he very efficiently makes us travel with him through his life. His anecdotes, and those of others which he chose to mention in his work, carried profound meaning and deep insights. And everything he says beautifully flows into his life story. Nothing is irrelevant, and everything is strangely relatable. In the end, I wasn’t left with the fear that I would have to go through this ordeal of dying- even a painless death unlike Dr. Paul’s. Instead, I possessed the courage to face it. This is something that held me in wonder.

There is no doubt in my recommending this book to everyone, from all possible walks of life. The thoughts and facts stated in this book are definitely relatable, and the humour is great too! I know that sounds extremely ironic, but yes- Dr Paul, with his mind-blowing sorcery, managed to make the reader laugh with his humorous narration of a few of his past experiences.

This book means a lot to me. Kalanithi’s writing style as well as his impactful messages really hit home with great force. He has, as Abraham Verghese rightly said, spun gold with his heartwarming- and simultaneously heartbreaking- prose.