When Breath Becomes Air [non-fiction] - Round 1

Book Update

    The book I am writing about is When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi. It is about a neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with lung cancer in his final year of residency. He dies at the age of 37. I have read 43 pages of this book so far. I chose this book because my cousin recommended it to me. I also want to learn more about cancer. I think I will continue to read this book and write about it.

Subject

    This book is an autobiography. It is about a neurosurgeon named Paul Kalanithi, who is entering his first year of residency. He starts to experience back pain and weight loss. At first, he and his doctor think his symptoms are due to aging and work. However, as his symptoms get worse, he gets a scan and is diagnosed with lung cancer. Then, we flash back to his childhood and college years, during which he studied both literature and human biology. He talks about his journey through medical school and treatment for his cancer. He talks about what it means to be alive and dealing with death. 

Occasion

    The book was written in 2015 and was posthumously published in 2016. I don't think the year influenced this book because it is solely about the author and his battle with cancer. It is his personal memoir which he wrote because of his diagnosis of cancer and being faced with death during his treatment.

Audience

    I think the audience of this book would be people who want to learn more about lung cancer and read about it in length from the perspective of someone who actually had it. Also, people who are looking for inspiration in life might read this book. The audience could also just be people who want to read this book for entertainment.

Purpose

    The purpose of this book is to show people that life is short and that things can change at any moment. The author wants us to live life to the fullest and understand how precious life is. He wants to show us how it feels to have death looming over you.

Speaker

    The author is Paul Kalanithi. He originally lived in Bronxville, New York, but moved to Kingman, Arizona when he was ten. He gained a deep love of reading throughout his teenage years. He went to Stanford and studied both English literature and human biology, but found himself drawn to psychology and neuroscience. He died in 2015 at the age of 37. He has a wife named Lucy and a daughter named Elizabeth.