When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air is a non-fiction autobiographical book written by American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi. It is a memoir about his life and illness, battling stage IV metastatic lung cancer. It was posthumously published by Random House on January 12, 2016.

In his last year of neurosurgical residency at Stanford University, Kalanithi experiences negative changes in his health. Rapid weight loss, and severe back and chest pains begin to raise concern for him and his wife, Lucy Kalanithi. Kalanithi worries that cancer might have caused his symptoms and his decline of health – unlikely for people in their thirties. However, when X-ray results in a routine medical check-up return normal, his primary care physician and he attribute the symptoms to aging and work 

By Paul Kalanithi