Review: The question of mortality has always fascinated philosophers… — My Book Reviews! — TG.ME

Review: The question of mortality has always fascinated philosophers but it is also one that every human being eventually confronts - if we are all going to die, what is the point of living? It is a tragedy to humans that we spend our lives searching for meaning, building relationships, pursuing ambitions and trying to understand the whole world, all while knowing that our time is limited and yet we constantly evaluate ourselves, measuring our successes and failures and wondering whether our lives amount to something meaningful or not (The irony is that no one can ever fully judge a life as a complete whole, to do so would require seeing the entire story from beginning to end, and by the time that becomes possible, we are no longer here to make that judgment) Mortality and meaning of life are the question that Paul confronts at the age of 36 when he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer A neurosurgeon on the verge of completing years of training, suddenly finds himself moving from the role of doctor to that of patient, faced with the reality of death, he searches for an answer to life and his answer is simple, we love people despite knowing we will one day lose them, we pursue goals despite knowing that many of our ambitions may remain unfinished, we allow ourselves to become attached despite the certainty of future pain, not because these things guarantee happiness, but because they are what give life meaning, as Paul writes, “You cannot ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving”, the value of life lies not solely in achievement, but in the pursuit of what we consider worthwhile The first half of the book was quite challenging because of the medical terminology and technical discussions, however, as I reached the second half, my opinion completely changed and by the end of the book I was in tears (Ps - lucy’s closing epilogue was especially touching🥹🥹) This is one of those books that stays with you long after you’ve finished it, I would highly recommend it to everyone!!