An Author's Journey Begins

One of the more dramatic moments in "When Breath Becomes Air" is when the author, Paul Kalanithi, laments that he always thought he had Twenty years to be a neurosurgeon and another Twenty to pursue his dream of being an author. But after he was confronted with a life that had only but a few sunrises left, he was torn between the choice of becoming an accomplished doctor and an author. This quandary encapsulates what most of us are chronically aware of but unwilling to confront. Time is fleeting and we, for the most part, sacrifice a great deal of our passion in the quest for the more commonly sought out goals such as career, fame and fortune.

When my father retired he was a man restless with his new found freedom from the corporate lifestyle that he had grown accustomed to over the preceding 35 years. A freshly minted Engineer who found his way from a rural town in Kerala to a jet setter traveling around the globe as a corporate executive, he had become all too comfortable with a busy lifestyle. Suddenly he had found himself with a lot of free time on hand.

As a young man, he was a prolific reader of both fiction and non-fiction. He would frequently narrate lines from books that had moved him in unique ways. I remember cuddling next to him as a young boy listening in awe to story lines that he would narrate in a dramatic tone. I could feel the excitement build in his voice as he relived that moment when he read the book.

Regardless of that, it came as a surprise to me when he embarked on a journey to write a book himself. Initially, most of us regarded this as a fleeting fancy he had caught trying to fill his free time. But the idea was intriguing. He was going to draw from his experiences starting as a young sales trainee in the hustle and bustle of Mumbai and recount his journey up the ladder. His plan was to narrate it in a satirical fashion with all the idiosyncrasies that he had encountered on the way. It was not an autobiography by any means, but a cheerful and humors look at a young man finding his footing in a young nation, both maturing as the story progressed.

The book did turn out to be a journey indeed. There were times when he was completely immersed in the experience and then there were times when he would put it aside for months together. A writers block of sorts. But in all that time he was always determined to complete it, irrespective of weather he would publish it or not. To his credit he did finish it and just like that on a fine February morning Corporate Comedy showed up on Amazon. I have never seen him prouder of an accomplishment.

Not everybody gets to discover a second chapter in their life that they never knew existed. And sometimes unexpected surprises in life do not give people a chance to pursue it. Unlike Paul Kalanithi, my Dad did not have to choose between one of the other. Fate afforded him time to do both at leisure. I could not be prouder of what he has accomplished. And after all these years, I am still amazed at his determination to finish every journey that he begins.

To many more adventures ahead.