In When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi was a prominent neurosurgeon that had been diagnosed with cancer. Forced to face mortality, Kalanithi’s life changed completely. Initially, when he found out about his illness, he did not have the intentions to carry on with his career and life. However, with the help of his family and friends, Kalanithi decided that he wanted to pursue his life and strive. In Kalanithi’s story, family relations and the doctor-patient relationship played an important role because those relationships provided Kalanithi support throughout his illness and shaped him into an extraordinary doctor. In When Breath Becomes Air, the first family member Kalanithi introduced to readers was his wife, Lucy. Before his heartbreaking
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Not only did they help Kalanithi be strong, his family also played an important role in shaping Kalanithi into an incredible surgeon. Kalanithi’s mother was very invested in her son’s education and his father was a cardiologist with a private practice. Although Kalanithi’s father was largely absent throughout the story, he was there for him when he got sick. For instance, Katy mentioned that Kalanithi’s father would often rub his son’s feet (Kalanithi 218). However, Kalanithi’s mother played a big part in Kalanithi’s life when he was younger. His mother was intent on providing Kalanithi the best education and life. Kalanithi described his mother, “In her quest to see that her children were educated, my mom drove more than a hundred miles north, to the nearest big city, Las Vegas, so we could take out PSATs, SATs, and ACTs. She joined the school board, rallied teachers, and demanded that AP classes be added to the curriculum” (Kalanithi 27). With the help of his mother, Kalanithi had the leading foundation to become extraordinary. Not only did his family play a prominent role in shaping Kalanithi into an extraordinary doctor, they went out of their way to provide Kalanithi with all the support he needed. Lucy explains, “Both of us drew strength from Paul’s family, who bolstered us as we weathered his illness and supported us in bringing our own child into the family. Despite stunning grief over their …show more content…
Not only did his illness bring his family closer, but it shaped him into an extraordinary doctor. When Breath Becomes Air was a beautifully written story that touched me deeply. As a doctor and patient, Kalanithi had the ability to make strong doctor-patient connections, but as a writer, he was able to connect to readers on a whole different level. His story and the way he portrayed it was powerful enough to touch readers. With his rhythmic words, you learn about Kalanithi and his family, and you can’t help but feel like you know them personally. The story also opened your eyes up to death and revealed that anyone could be next. Ultimately, When Breath Becomes Air was a marvelous story about the truths of life, death, and
Not only did they help Kalanithi be strong, his family also played an important role in shaping Kalanithi into an incredible surgeon. Kalanithi’s mother was very invested in her son’s education and his father was a cardiologist with a private practice. Although Kalanithi’s father was largely absent throughout the story, he was there for him when he got sick. For instance, Katy mentioned that Kalanithi’s father would often rub his son’s feet (Kalanithi 218). However, Kalanithi’s mother played a big part in Kalanithi’s life when he was younger. His mother was intent on providing Kalanithi the best education and life. Kalanithi described his mother, “In her quest to see that her children were educated, my mom drove more than a hundred miles north, to the nearest big city, Las Vegas, so we could take out PSATs, SATs, and ACTs. She joined the school board, rallied teachers, and demanded that AP classes be added to the curriculum” (Kalanithi 27). With the help of his mother, Kalanithi had the leading foundation to become extraordinary. Not only did his family play a prominent role in shaping Kalanithi into an extraordinary doctor, they went out of their way to provide Kalanithi with all the support he needed. Lucy explains, “Both of us drew strength from Paul’s family, who bolstered us as we weathered his illness and supported us in bringing our own child into the family. Despite stunning grief over their …show more content…
Not only did his illness bring his family closer, but it shaped him into an extraordinary doctor. When Breath Becomes Air was a beautifully written story that touched me deeply. As a doctor and patient, Kalanithi had the ability to make strong doctor-patient connections, but as a writer, he was able to connect to readers on a whole different level. His story and the way he portrayed it was powerful enough to touch readers. With his rhythmic words, you learn about Kalanithi and his family, and you can’t help but feel like you know them personally. The story also opened your eyes up to death and revealed that anyone could be next. Ultimately, When Breath Becomes Air was a marvelous story about the truths of life, death, and