Even before I read this, I already knew I was going to get myself into some serious waterworks and of course it did. This book is a memoir by Dr. Paul Kalanithi who narrated his fight against stage-four lung cancer.

He was pursuing a career in neurosurgery when he learnt that he was going to die. Throughout the entire book, you will experience the ups and downs of Paul’s journey to rediscover himself: seeing how he navigates his career while battling cancer at the same time. In his last year of fighting, he and his wife decided to have a child together, which makes it even harder for him to leave.

His wife, Lucy wrote in the epilogue on why Paul decided to write about his experience.

“Paul confronted death – examined it, wrestled with it, accepted it – as a physician and a patient. He wanted to help people understand death and face their mortality. Dying in one’s fourth decade is unusual now, but dying is not.”

This book hits close to home as it reminds me that I need to cherish my time with close ones, and the moments I have with the ones who are fighting this journey.