When Breath Becomes AirWhen Breath Becomes Air
Score Modern
What it's about
At thirty-six, Paul Kalanithi was about to finish a decade of training as a neurosurgeon at Stanford when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying; the next he was a patient trying to live. Written in the time he had left, this is his story of the questions that drew him to medicine (what makes a life meaningful when every life ends?) and of facing them himself, as a husband, a surgeon and a new father.
Why it's worth reading
It's a short, luminous book about mortality that somehow leaves readers feeling more alive. Kalanithi writes with a surgeon's precision and a poet's sense of wonder.
You'll love it if you liked
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Educated: A Memoir
The Body Keeps the ScoreGood to know
Kalanithi died before he could finish it; his wife Lucy's epilogue completes the story. It's under 250 pages, and many people read it in one sitting.
By the numbers
- Readers96 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller89 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz31 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #3 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #15 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #23 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Moving
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Quick answers
Is When Breath Becomes Air worth reading?
Yes. It's a short, luminous book about mortality that somehow leaves readers feeling more alive. It ranks #23 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 91.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is When Breath Becomes Air about?
At thirty-six, Paul Kalanithi was about to finish a decade of training as a neurosurgeon at Stanford when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying; the next he was a patient trying to live. Written in the time he had left, this is his story of the questions that drew him to medicine (what makes a life meaningful when every life ends?) and of facing them himself, as a husband, a surgeon and a new father.
How long does it take to read When Breath Becomes Air?
About 6 hours (256 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after When Breath Becomes Air?
If you liked it, try The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover or The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk.