for thousands of years, Chinese tradition has always respected Confucianism, and the famous saying "I don't know how to live, but I know how to die" has been hidden in our subconscious, so we mostly avoid talking about the topic of "death". Therefore, when death comes quietly, we are so helpless.
When Breath Turns into Air is the last work of American author Paul Carani. At the age of 36, Paul was originally an outstanding local surgeon, and his seven-year residency earned him the title of genius surgeon. The title of surgical professor and his own laboratory will be realized in the near future, and Paul, who is full of admiration and wonder, is about to reach the peak of his life.
However, the sudden four-stage lung cancer made him fall from the peak of his life to the bottom. Facing the approaching of death, Paul began to reflect on his life as a doctor and a patient, and compiled his thoughts on life into a book.
Paul in the book doesn't exaggerate his emotions like an ordinary author, but records the final countdown of his life like an outsider. He doesn't believe that he can beat cancer, and he doesn't want to record this false feeling on paper, but records the most accurate feelings at that time, so that his reflection on life can be shown in words.
In the end, When Breath Becomes Air, which integrates deep thoughts such as human nature thinking and the meaning of existence, died after Paul's death.
Next, let's understand the short life of this talented surgeon from three aspects: abandoning literature to become a doctor, dying, and having no regrets in this life.
1. Abandoning literature and seeking the core of life
Being born is passive; Death is also passive, so how should we spend it between life and death?
Paul, who was born in a medical family, never thought that he would become a surgeon in the future before he was 18. When he was young, he dreamed that he would one day become a literary writer who explored human nature and the meaning of existence.
However, at the age of 18, a book Satan: Psychotherapy and Treatment of the Unfortunate Doctor Kasler changed his mind: all literary works and free will are derived from the brain, and communication between people is not expressed by words, but through small brain tissues and tiny nerves in the skull.
In the end, Paul got a double degree in English literature and human biology from Stanford University and a master's degree in philosophy from Cambridge University. However, neither literature nor philosophy can help him find the true meaning of life. Therefore, Paul moved to the pre-medical class and continued to explore the mysterious color between physiology and spirit, and between survival and death with the attitude of "knowing that this matter should be done".
After entering surgery, Paul's thinking about life became even more serious. His classmates all applied for the position of "money is more or less close to home", but Paul always stuck to the front line of surgery, because he firmly believed that he would find the secrets of people's brains and the core of survival in the practice and research of neurosurgery.
As a result, Paul is immersed in research, surgery and other work every day. High-intensity work makes him always drag his tired body home, and even his wife Lucy, who is a doctor, has a lot to say about it, but Paul doesn't take it seriously. It was not until a strong back pain hit that he felt that his body had made a final protest ...
Unexpectedly, this pain made Paul become a cancer patient from a doctor ...
Second.
Imagine how many patients' lives have been taken away from Paul by cancer cells during his six-year residency, and now, tragedy will finally come to him. Memories of treating cancer patients in the past time have clouded Hwa-Sung Do and eroded Paul's confidence.
In the face of cancer, no one can be more helpless than a doctor ...
Fortunately, Paul met his attending doctor Amy, who could not help but have superb medical skills and psychological guidance for patients. She kept the core data of Paul's illness confidential, and repeatedly guided Paul to find the meaning of life in the future.
Under the guidance of Amy, Paul had hope for his illness again. He started physical therapy, and his emaciated body showed muscle lines again. Even after the first treatment, Paul returned to the operating table and returned to his familiar post.
At this time, Paul has a brand-new view on life and death:
The so-called cancer is just a term that reminds us repeatedly that our life will come to an end one day in the future, and our life is doomed to come to an end one day from the day we are born.
So, the fear of cancer dissipated, and Paul began to remind himself of the value of life and greet every morning with gratitude. Facing the unknown future, Paul and his wife Lucy discussed it again and again, and finally decided to have a child to accompany Lucy through a life without her own.
In the following days, Paul returned to the operating table, recovered himself with high efficiency, and dedicated his life to the patients. In Paul's view, this is not only a return after the Anti-Japanese War, but also a verification of the prediction of the attending doctor Amy, which greatly consolidated Paul's confidence and infinitely enlarged his little hope.
When everything seemed to be back on track, the cancer cells were quietly transferring ...
A few months later, a brand-new tumor appeared in Paul's right lung. He knew that the last time in his life to operate on others had finally arrived. It never rains but it pours, because of the long-term use of anticancer drugs, Paul's hepatomycin has increased greatly, and the attending doctor Amy has to stop taking drugs and adopt radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Since then, the robust Paul is gone forever.
In the process of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Paul's health went from bad to worse, so he couldn't attend the graduation ceremony of medical school. Even when he and Lucy's daughter Cuddy were born, Paul had to rely on the support of a wheelchair to get to the obstetrics and gynecology department.
Paul, who is weak, has no strength to hug Cuddy now, but his heart is glowing because of Cuddy's arrival-after all, his life is complete because of Cuddy's arrival.
At this moment, Paul's illness suddenly worsened, and the contents of the book came to an abrupt end ...
Third, there is no regret in this life, and the spirit of immortality will be passed on to future generations
The last part of this book was written by Paul's wife Lucy, who extended the axis of time to the day when Paul died ...
On the day when Cady was eight months old, Paul died.
On the eve of his death, Paul told Lucy firmly and clearly that I was ready.
Yes, Paul is ready to fight death for the last time. He removes breathing AIDS and injects morphine to wait for death.
On that day, Paul said goodbye to his wife, family and friends one by one, and then died in a severe coma.
Lucy tells us that Paul didn't choose to cut off the ventilator in his throat to save his life, nor did he choose to perform cardiac resuscitation. Paul, who has been pursuing the meaning of life all his life, didn't choose first aid to survive. For him, life without freedom is more uncomfortable than death.
However, by the time Paul passed away, he had already completed the meaning of this life-the so-called meaning of survival is just the cross-linking between people. Only through the small brain tissue under the skull can every word in life have real meaning.
Because of this, the care and encouragement that Paul got from his family and friends made him feel warm and peaceful in his daughter. In the last year of his life, his uncompromising and strong performance has turned into shining seeds, which fall in the deep heart of everyone around him and take root.
Lucy is proud of him, not because of his great achievements, but because of his charm and personality at the last moment of his life.
On March 9, 215, Paul left a rich spiritual property for Cuddy, and then he finished his life and passed away.
The editor said:
When reading this book "When Breath Becomes Air", the author didn't feel too much sadness, but kept updating his views on the meaning of life through the author's guidance and narration in the reading process.
At the beginning of the article, the author has said that in the 5,-year history of China, most people always avoided talking about the word death. Over time, we forgot the existence of death and the importance of life.
because of this, we always mistakenly think that there is too much time for us to squander, but we don't know that time flies in a blink of an eye, and life is helpless and unwilling.
wasn't there a saying on the internet before? Some people are dead at the age of twenty, but they are buried at the age of seventy. Yes, there are always such people around us, even ourselves. Whenever we are frustrated, we always run away. It is true that we deceive ourselves that there is plenty of time, and everything will be discussed for a long time, and then it will be abandoned, pushing everything to the unknown in the future.
When Paul learned that he was ill, he began to look for the meaning of life in the oppressive feeling of death. This spirit of dying made him complete his short 37-year life. When Paul, who is weak, lies in the hospital bed and tells Lucy that he is ready to die, I really feel cheerful ... < P > It's not because he is cold-blooded and numb, but because Paul has found his own meaning in this life, and his spirit will be passed on through everyone around him and Cuddy ... < P > Maybe, before death comes, we should As long as there is tomorrow, we should make the tedious and procrastinating life clear and capable, and let the light of life glow.
Everyone's life is counting down. Have you started to move forward?