Mindy Kim

“The call to protect life -- and not merely life but another's identity; it is perhaps not too much to say another's soul -- was obvious in its sacredness.”
― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air

“As a resident, my highest ideal was not saving lives—everyone dies eventually—but guiding a patient or family to an understanding of death or illness.”
― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air

“mind was simply the operation of the brain, an idea that struck me with force; it startled my naive understanding of the world”
― Paul Kalanithi

“Before operating on a patient's brain, I realized, I must first understand his mind: his identity, his values, what makes his life worth living, and what devastation makes it reasonable to let that life end. The cost of my dedication to succeed was high, and the ineluctable failures brought me nearly unbearable guilt. Those burdens are what make medicine holy and wholly impossible: in taking up another's cross, one must sometimes get crushed by the weight.”
― Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air