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Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

47 reviews

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

2.5

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captainrenjamin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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tellingmyselfastory's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down. It's hopefully heartbreaking. One of the themes that kept coming up that I resonated with is the way the healthcare system dulls the empathy of it's professionals. How it's easier to disconnect into the statistics and turn the patient into another number. I found his philosophy on medicine fascinating. 

Our culture doesn't like to discuss death but this does in such a thoughtful way. It's real and honest.  But it's also about living. And how living and dying are connected. Living with the knowledge you are dying. 
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kira20's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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venetiana's review against another edition

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I'm sure this is great, just too heavy for me.
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thefemale_nickmiller's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

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mdwsn27's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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whatannikareads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

super obvious observation, but you could tell paul was really intelligent and thoughtful from his writing alone. it's kinda crazy that he wrote this in the later stages of his cancer, when it's a struggle just to breathe, let alone write a memoir. it tickled the part of my brain that is interested in science and medicine, and i appreciate that this memoir merged those two interests. i learned a lot about neuroscience and the brutal work life of neurosurgeons. and i admire that paul was so passionate about writing and literature. i think because of how intelligent he is, he lost me at some parts that got more technical and descriptive. i think he occasionally strayed from his central point and went on tangents. but the epilogue made me cry hard and feel existential. i think memoirs like this are really thought-provoking and i'd like to dive into other works in this vein.
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tpeacock9's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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berryradical's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

I was able to read this book in a day. Definitely cried. The briefness we have on this planet makes you question things like what to let go of or what to pursue based on what you value. Paul going from a surgeon being paged to patient status places his viewpoints in perspective. He leaves behind a legacy of trying to help others in a vulnerable state. 
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