What will you do in the next 10 years of your life? Everyone has plans and dreams, making sure that they reach the mountain top. Climbing the mountain may not be easy but you will always get see the beautiful things. However, while climbing, you realized that the route to climb was no longer there and there is no other way to reach the top.
A sublime read. Written in a heart-breaking and touching way. Paul, like many of us had dreams. He studied for years, attended the top schools and had reasons why he chose to master in different aspects such as literature, philosophy and science. He spent most of his time studying literature and history of medicine to understand death. He wrote great details of his years of training, seeking knowledge on multiple fronts. Well, he excels in almost all things.
The almost-complete book, with the prologue and epilogue by Paul’s wife, Lucy is divided into two parts. The first gave an account of Paul’s moments from his childhood, his love for literature and his callings while the second narrates his illness-how he faced death.
As I read the book, i was hooked- a powerful tale of living death. The things he did in life were for a purpose. Coming from a well-off family, everyone wants the best for him. Basically, the book tells me everything, his life. Long story short, he attended Yale School of Medicine, studying neuroscience and worked in the fMRI lab to understand how the brain could give rise on an organism capable of finding meaning in the world. After graduating from the medical school, he returned to Stanford University to complete his residency training in neurosurgery.
He wanted to save people’s lives, making a difference. It is not easy to fight for your own breath, writing your everyday thoughts, emotion and darkness. As a neurosurgeon, he faced different types of patients and treated them. He went through different scans, operations and families of patients. But one day, the room he once treated patients became the room he was treated in. At the age of 36, a once healthy and non-smoker was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. He was a surgeon-turned-patient. Unbelievable but he then knew that his days were counted. His future, all mapped out was broke down by the news, and he had to reassess his thinking to accept the cruel twist in destiny.
The transition from a doctor to a patient was not easy for a hands-on patient care which Paul was. The thought of his future was pounded on how to use time wisely. He thought of ways for his wife, Lucy to live without him. Wanting to make life meaningful, they decided to have a child.
He struggles with the philosophical questions which plague him. As he went through the stages of his illness, his values were constantly changing. The urgency to race time, only to say the important things.
This book made a great impact on me, on how I should manage my time wisely. We all won’t know when we will face death. What if we bid goodbye tomorrow without bidding the best goodbye? What is the true meaning of life, if in the end all of us is going to die?
The foundation of faith lies when I read this book. Paul wrote the book in the most meaningful way possible, answering the question. His love in Literature was captivated, together with his strong use of vocabulary. Being a neurosurgeon, he had described in detail of his career and operations processed.
I felt the effect of this book, where melancholy and sorrows unloads on the sturdy and wise shoulders of Paul. He was a great writer, neurosurgeon, dad, son, husband and a friend. Things are explained precisely especially when explications are needed. Although the reading may be a bit depressing, Paul had so much to offer although he knew he was going to die and not being able to contribute as much.
The book was not completely ended off. A young man with so much promise, so much heart and empathy. The epilogue, beautifully written by his wife, Lucy was so touching that tears eventually had to run down my cheeks. Her ability to convey emotion without getting either lyrical or sappy was excellent. As Paul strength deteriorate over the following months, Paul and Lucy continued to experience their last moments together even in the midst of their sorrow. One Sunday, Paul’s condition worsened, struggling to breathe. Everyone, his parents and wife stood by close to him. And he whispered
“ This might how it ends” to Lucy.
He was ready to remove the breathing support, to start morphine, to die.
March 9th 2015, eight months after the born of their daughter, Cady, Paul passed away.
The component of truth in this book was a reality Paul faced. Unfinished, Paul had spent his last days writing this book which I think it was a great sense of being alive, than actually dying. This book has given me the clear image of life and it was definite deeply moving and life-affirming.
The almost-complete book, with the prologue and epilogue by Paul’s wife, Lucy is divided into two parts. The first gave an account of Paul’s moments from his childhood, his love for literature and his callings while the second narrates his illness-how he faced death.
As I read the book, i was hooked- a powerful tale of living death. The things he did in life were for a purpose. Coming from a well-off family, everyone wants the best for him. Basically, the book tells me everything, his life. Long story short, he attended Yale School of Medicine, studying neuroscience and worked in the fMRI lab to understand how the brain could give rise on an organism capable of finding meaning in the world. After graduating from the medical school, he returned to Stanford University to complete his residency training in neurosurgery.
He wanted to save people’s lives, making a difference. It is not easy to fight for your own breath, writing your everyday thoughts, emotion and darkness. As a neurosurgeon, he faced different types of patients and treated them. He went through different scans, operations and families of patients. But one day, the room he once treated patients became the room he was treated in. At the age of 36, a once healthy and non-smoker was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. He was a surgeon-turned-patient. Unbelievable but he then knew that his days were counted. His future, all mapped out was broke down by the news, and he had to reassess his thinking to accept the cruel twist in destiny.
The transition from a doctor to a patient was not easy for a hands-on patient care which Paul was. The thought of his future was pounded on how to use time wisely. He thought of ways for his wife, Lucy to live without him. Wanting to make life meaningful, they decided to have a child.
He struggles with the philosophical questions which plague him. As he went through the stages of his illness, his values were constantly changing. The urgency to race time, only to say the important things.
This book made a great impact on me, on how I should manage my time wisely. We all won’t know when we will face death. What if we bid goodbye tomorrow without bidding the best goodbye? What is the true meaning of life, if in the end all of us is going to die?
The foundation of faith lies when I read this book. Paul wrote the book in the most meaningful way possible, answering the question. His love in Literature was captivated, together with his strong use of vocabulary. Being a neurosurgeon, he had described in detail of his career and operations processed.
I felt the effect of this book, where melancholy and sorrows unloads on the sturdy and wise shoulders of Paul. He was a great writer, neurosurgeon, dad, son, husband and a friend. Things are explained precisely especially when explications are needed. Although the reading may be a bit depressing, Paul had so much to offer although he knew he was going to die and not being able to contribute as much.
The book was not completely ended off. A young man with so much promise, so much heart and empathy. The epilogue, beautifully written by his wife, Lucy was so touching that tears eventually had to run down my cheeks. Her ability to convey emotion without getting either lyrical or sappy was excellent. As Paul strength deteriorate over the following months, Paul and Lucy continued to experience their last moments together even in the midst of their sorrow. One Sunday, Paul’s condition worsened, struggling to breathe. Everyone, his parents and wife stood by close to him. And he whispered
“ This might how it ends” to Lucy.
He was ready to remove the breathing support, to start morphine, to die.
March 9th 2015, eight months after the born of their daughter, Cady, Paul passed away.
The component of truth in this book was a reality Paul faced. Unfinished, Paul had spent his last days writing this book which I think it was a great sense of being alive, than actually dying. This book has given me the clear image of life and it was definite deeply moving and life-affirming.
