Newman Louis
@newmanlouis
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Day 15: When Breath Becomes Air
A neurosurgeon reflects on the meaning of life as he approaches death. What could be bad about that, right? Such poignant irony! Such perspective!
When I plucked this off of my wife’s section of the bookshelf, that’s what was running through my head.
“Great, I’ll read it and then my wife and I can talk about it together!”
So I’m psyched. I love books about death. I love reading books by super smart people. I get settled in and start reading.
It quickly becomes clear to me that I’m reading a collection of essays, panicked diary entries, and dollar store philosophical ramblings. Apparently the editors, without a living author to work with, decided to just ship it as they found it.
If Kalanithi had made a miraculous recovery, he’d have reread this, realized that it’s sentimental hallmark movie slop, and tucked it in the drawer where it belongs.
I went to my wife to say all this. Her response: “Oh yeah, never read it.”
Two stars. Don’t fall for it. 5 replies
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