When the breath becomes Air summary?

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 most critical place for human identity, and finally …

Why is it called When Breath Becomes Air?

In When Breath Becomes Air, breath stands in for life. The “breath” of the title is derived from the poem that becomes the memoir’s epigraph: “Caelia 83,” by Baron Brooke Fulke Greville. … Therefore, the moment in which breath becomes air describes the act of dying, with breath representing life.

What is the essential message of the book When Breath Becomes Air?

The main themes in When Breath Becomes Air are life and death, responsibility, and writing and literature. Life and death: The memoir is a meditation on the mystery of life and death, and Kalanithi provides insight into this mystery as both a doctor and a patient.

Is When Breath Becomes Air worth reading?

Paul Kalanithi’s memoir, “When Breath Becomes Air,” written as he faced a terminal cancer diagnosis, is inherently sad. But it’s an emotional investment well worth making: a moving and thoughtful memoir of family, medicine and literature. It is, despite its grim undertone, accidentally inspiring.

How does When Breath Becomes Air end?

He ends the book with a message to her, saying that she has given him the greatest joy of his life. Lucy finishes the memoir with an epilogue, describing the circumstances of Paul’s death. Around Christmas, Paul’s third treatment option stops working, and the cancer spreads to his brain.

How long is When Breath Becomes Air?

The average reader will spend 4 hours and 16 minutes reading this book at 250 WPM (words per minute).

Who is the antagonist in When Breath Becomes Air?

The antagonist is the cancer that Paul is diagnosed with (stage 4 lung cancer). Although it is a disasterous disease, it caused him to reflect about himself as well as the struggle patients actually endure.