Et cetera : What we're reading: When Breath Becomes Air

Do you find yourself ever struggling to find meaning in life? Or has someone you loved died and left a lingering fear of death? If either of these questions keep you up at night: please read the memoir entitled "When Breath Becomes Air" by American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi. A neurosurgeon so versed in the literary world that I at once felt he was my kin even though I am far removed from the scientific life.

Kalinithi showed me the virtue that lies in examining a life lived when you know you're dying. Diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in his mid-30's, he at once became the Patient and the Doctor. I saw a glimpse into the health care world via a dying surgeon's point of view and it floored me. What I found so utterly calming was that he did not rage against the dying light like Dylan Thomas but accepted his fate calmly and effortlessly. Almost as if he was born to dissect death for the reader and show you not to fear the inevitable. But embrace it. Make plans. Be guided by it, even.

Kalinithi wrote: "I began to realize that coming face to face with my own mortality, in a sense, had changed nothing and everything. Seven words from Samuel Beckett began to repeat in my head: 'I can't go on. I'll go on.'"

It's available at the library and on the Libby app. Happy reading, friends. ~Heather