The Amateur Bookworm

My husband who is a critical care physician was the first to recommend a book called “When breath becomes air”. Little did I know how deeply I would be touched after finishing this book. Authored by Dr. Paul Kalanithi, a young neurosurgical resident of just 34 years of age who was battling lung cancer. Young and at the cusp of embarking on a brilliant physician-scientist lifepath, he walks us through the story of how he and his wife Lucy went through a devastating medical diagnosis and failing battle with cancer. This is a remarkable memoir of a brilliant physician and how he prematurely navigates the surety of mortality due to his life being cruelly cut short by the death sentence of cancer. Being a physician myself, I think several aspects of this book touched me very deeply and I could relate with several of his patient stories that were narrated in this book. For me becoming a doctor was not about prestige or the money. It was about the immense responsibility we carry in doing w...

So here goes...I have always wanted to be an avid bookworm...no, I do not mean scientific books or journals or the ones you read to take a test  (since...I am a physician and we are never done with taking exams....ever) but I have always been envious of those who could pick up a novel or a fictional or non fictional book anytime anywhere and just immerse themselves in the story, and let themselves be transported to a different world. Every New Year's Eve, I would put this on my list of things to do but with every passing year I would find some excuse to pass this habit off. I know its almost May of 2020 and some may say its too late for a new year's resolution. But guess what? Maybe it's the COVID pandemic that's given me more time to think or maybe it's this sudden realization that life is short and there are so many great books and authors out there, wanting to share their story, their lives, their struggles, their victories, there fears, there strengths with us....