The title of this very moving memoir comes from the writings of English diarist Baron Greville, "You that seek what life is in death, Now find it air that once was breath." And thus Dr. Kalanithi goes on to share with us his journey to death - a death that came much sooner than he had ever imagined.
It sounds morbid or depressing perhaps, but Dr. Kalanithi was a student of letters before he was a student of science. He earned a masters degree in literature before choosing to go to medical school. Thus words for him are paramount - and he parses his words beautifully. That is one way that this story is lifted from the possibly maudlin to nearly sublime at some junctures.
But what is mostly compelling is his ability to tell his story in a way that makes us feel that we are on the journey with him. The scientific and medical detail is thorough, and even though I couldn't always follow it exactly, the sense of what he was trying to say came through.
He starts with the discovery of his cancer, then moves to the background of his journey to that point, and back to the discovery. He wrote up until the end of his life, and probably did not feel that he'd told the whole story. The epilogue by his wife is very beautifully written also.
I wept as read the ending. As one reviewer noted, even though you know the outcome, you are still mesmerized by his story. I would highly recommend it to one and all.
And thanks, Hannah, for sending me the link about it!
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