When I read this Ryan’s Funeral card I found on social media, it reminded me of my favourite book, When Breath Becomes Air. When people face their mortality and take their final breaths, they often share the deepest lessons about life. These lessons are the most valuable gifts they leave behind.

Life Lessons from RYAN

People often see me as energetic, always smiling, always positive — but all of that is built on my past. The path I walked was not easy. But life guided me to understand that everyone carries their own story — sometimes painful, heavy, and difficult. And these stories taught me not to give up. As long as I can still breathe, that alone is already something to be grateful for, because it means I still have another chance.

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When Breath Becomes Air, the non-fiction memoir by American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi, has always been one of my favourite books. I first read it during my two months of maternity leave, and even now, every time I visit a bookstore and see the cover, something in me still stirs.

Even though Paul knew he was going to die, the way he wrote about it felt incredibly light — almost like air. I’m not exactly sure why I love this book so deeply. Maybe because it awakened something in me, but in a quiet way. It didn’t shake me like a harsh lesson; instead, it slipped gently into my mind.

How Long Have I Got Left?
Paul went through so much to become a doctor — and then, beautifully, a writer. But at 37, just when everything was finally in his hands, he had to let it all go.

Reading his story made me ask myself:
What do I really need to do with the time I have left?
What do I really want to do with the time I have left?
Why don’t I try to enjoy every single moment with the time I have left?

It’s a frightening thought, because even when we’re healthy today, none of us truly knows the answer to that big question: How long have I got left?

Yet the book isn’t heavy or dark. It isn’t really about death at all — it feels more like a legacy. A message he left behind to gently awaken something in us, to remind us of the preciousness of being alive.

Thank you.