What I’m Reading: May 2018

For me, there seems to be a different book for every mood and a different book for every place. This month, I was home in Shanghai for the most part and squeezed in reading around work and enjoying springtime in the city. I was transported to Botswana, a Stanford hospital and North Korean prison camp.

When Breath Becomes Air — By Paul Kalanithi

Even though this has been on my shelf for a while, I can’t remember if I bought it myself or inherited it from a friend who’d moved out of China. I reached for it this month after remembering my mom’s book club had recommended it.

Written by a neurosurgeon after he is diagnosed with lung cancer, the book switches between past and present to tell you his life’s story, why he became interested in practicing medicine, and how he’s coping with his own diagnosis. But the beauty of this book isn’t in the medical talk or even his battle with cancer, it’s how Kalanithi talks about his passion for what he does and improving the lives of people around him.

I was not ready for the emotional rollercoaster this book took me on.

I finished this book in a day, starting it before work and staying up until one in the morning to finish it. I cried for the last thirty pages, and I rarely cry from reading.