Author: Paul Kalanithi
Genre: Autobiography; Non-fiction
At the edge of completing a decade’s worth of neurosurgeon training, Dr Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. The plan he had mapped out for his entire career and life has just been turned upside down with just a singular prognosis. Through his deeply moving memoir, he contemplates the meaning of life and death, and how to live with death hovering near.
This was my first non-fiction read of the year and I think, the first biography that I’ve ever read from start to finish. As you can see, I’ve reserved my rating for this book, because I believe that I am in no place to judge a person’s life story. So in this particular review, I will just talk about my reading experience.
To be honest, I literally have no words to say; I am speechless. I still get goosebumps, thinking about what I have read. The fact that a real person wrote this, that a real person went through all this struggle and wanted to say something to the world before his time ended, just made his message have so much more weight.
I found the book at once profound, impactful and meaningful. Dr Kalanithi, being a neurosurgeon himself, had always grappled with the concept of life and death. Through his time in med school, and from all his interactions with patients over the years, he had somehow slowly come to solidify his worldview.
“What makes life meaningful enough to go on living?”
And then, all of it was thrown into chaos. From a doctor to a patient, Dr Kalanithi was now facing the unthinkable. I thought that the way he faced his own mortality was so inspiring. He didn’t regard it with false optimism, nor did he regard it with unfounded dread. He simply accepted his fate. He was obviously saddened by it, and spoke about the sense of loss he felt regarding his future plans – now an impossibility. He didn’t let his fate incapacitate him though, and I found that this attitude underpinned the entire book, making this an emotional and poignant read.
Dr Kalanithi had a great passion for literature, and it can definitely be felt in the writing style. The writing was absolutely breathtaking. His prose was lucid and expressed complex concepts in simple terms. This made the book very easy to understand, and it felt like he was talking to us. He also had a very distinct writing voice, and it’s worth mentioning that he could make me laugh and cry, literally in consecutive pages.
The way he had written exemplified that he was a deep thinker with a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and a very empathetic heart. I have to add that his wife, Dr Lucy Kalanithi’s epilogue, just made the whole book so much more bittersweet. I was moved to tears when I came to the last page. The love that they shared is so strong and enduring, leaving me in awe.
“What happened to Paul was tragic, but he was not a tragedy.”
In my honest opinion, if you were to read just a single book this year, I would recommend this one. In fact, it’s worth reading multiple times. I hope you find Dr Kalanithi’s story as empowering as I did.
Reviewed by: S.R. Scribbles (1st reading)
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