When Breath Becomes Air

In his sublime "foreword [that] might be better thought of as an afterword," Abraham Verghese reveals that he came to know Kalanithi "most intimately when he'd ceased to be." That, too, is true of every listener here. Neurosurgeon Kalanithi died in March 2015 from lung cancer at the age of 37 and was, by all accounts, an exceptional human being. This posthumous release is an exquisite treatise on how to live. And his final words? A simple evocation of joy intended for his baby daughter. This just might be veteran narrator Cassandra Campbell's most affecting narration ever: possibly never again will her voice cause such an instantaneous reaction. The transition from Sunil Malhotra, who reads the main work, to Campbell reading Kalanithi's widow Lucy's lengthy epilog signals that Kalanithi is truly gone. The book's first paragraph warned you, and yet the actual voice change will break listeners' hearts.