When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air is heavily informed by poetics and the study of language. What rhetorical devices does Kalanithi rely most heavily on to pay homage to the writers he loves? In what ways do the references to writers help advance the narrative?

Part 1 of the book begins: “I knew with certainty I would never be a doctor” (19). Kalanithi shapes his memoir by tracing, chronologically, stories from his own life and immersing them in a larger existential discussion. What are some of the key life events and/or concepts that pull Paul back to medicine as he grows older, despite his potential to study whatever he wants?

The Prologue is chronologically out-of-sync. What events or ideas contained in the Prologue necessitate its position at the front of the book?

Paul, Emma, Jeff, V, and the other doctors in the story deal with grief and trauma on a daily basis. In what ways do their approaches to grief intersect and diverge, and how do you think that the publicizing of these moments shapes your perception of doctors? Why is this important, or not?

Do you see Paul and Lucy’s decision to have a child after he is diagnosed with cancer as selfish, selfless, or somewhere in between?

In her Epilogue, Lucy decides to detail the moments of Paul’s last months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. How did seeing Paul from an outsider’s perspective inform your reading of the rest of the book?

Paul finally decides not to leave Cady a series of letters. He dedicates the final paragraph of the book to her, instead. Lucy also mentions that Paul did not care what became of his remains. In a way, When Breath Becomes Air is Paul’s way of memorializing himself. Using details from the text to support your argument, name the one characteristic or trait that Paul most wanted to be remembered by.

Pick one patient who survives surgery but is impaired. Outline three ways in which the complications of the illness will recalibrate this person’s ability to make meaning out of life.