When Breath Becomes Air is an autobiography written by and about Paul Kalanithi. Since the book is the real story of a man and his battle with cancer, several themes and problems are confronted that are very useful, as cancer has no cure. As it is written on several of the U.S copies of the book “What makes life worth living in the face of death”, is also pondered.
Paul finds knows there is something wrong with his body as he enters his thirties. He quickly understands that he isn’t healthy and starts researching and doing tests. When he doesn’t find any obvious cause for his discomfort, he continues living his life. The pain comes back, stronger this time, and new tests are taken, where it is revealed that he had stage IV metastatic lung cancer.
Lucy, Paul’s wife and the people around them do everything they can to defeat the cancer, to no avail. Lucy falls pregnant, which gives Paul something to look forward to, and Paul starts reflecting on his own life. Now that he know that his death is just around the corner, he chooses to spend time with his loved ones, yet not giving up that he might still live, as miracles do happen.
