Paul Kalanithi
2017 Shortlist
Paul Kalanithi was a neurosurgeon and writer. He held degrees in English literature, human biology, and the history and philosophy of science and medicine from Stanford and Cambridge universities, before graduating from Yale School of Medicine. He also received the American Academy of Neurological Surgery’s highest award for research.
His reflections on doctoring and illness have been published in the ‘New York Times’, the ‘Washington Post’ and the ‘Paris Review Daily’. Kalanithi died in March 2015, aged 37.
He is survived by his wife, Lucy, and their daughter, Elizabeth Acadia.
Wellcome Book Prize Achievement
When Breath Becomes Air
