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[plantmom]

I just finished Paul Kalanithi's book, When Breath Becomes Air.  Extraordinary, very illuminating about death, dying, and living knowing one will die sooner that might be ordinarily expected.  Moving and yet not maudlin.  Remarkable.
Also, there's a coincidence: his daughter was born on the Fourth of July, 2014.

Comments

[tilia_tomentosa]

I'm now very intrigued although that book would probably break my heart.

[plantmom]

Oh, Dari, he's an amazing writer. In fact, he studied literature before he pursued medicine. As to the heartbreak. I bought the book in the early spring, because of the reviews, but I only got around to reading it about three weeks ago. I knew better than to risk reading something potentially depressing during the time when I bought it. I knew it would be easier to deal with in the summer. I'm ass-backwards from most people in that regard.

[tilia_tomentosa]

I did read the openly accessible excerpts on Amazon, and I agree that he's an amazing writer.

Now that I think of it, I've been trying to protect myself from reading or watching anything stressful (Ouch, I haven't managed to watch The Normal Heart yet) because I desperately needed a break from the stress of my own volunteering activities. Now I've maybe recovered sufficiently, but I can't afford to buy a book from abroad (and ouch, I still have some unread books that were given for me for my birthday last December, or that I bought even earlier than that!).