When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi Synopsis ( From Goodreads ) "At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor making a living treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live." Review The writing is beautiful . With the same delicacy as performing an intesive surgery, Kalanithi writes his thoughts and experiences surrounding his illness. The words and prose are exquisite, made even more so by the depth of what they convey. This is one of the most poignant, beautiful, heart-wrenching things I have ever read. In the introduction, written by Abraham Verghese, one of Kalanithi's colleagues, you as the reader are invited to read Kalanithi's words as a conversation between you and him, your thoughts and feelings being your half. When I read that, I was unsure of what he meant, but in reading this short ...