When Indian-American neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi penned his memoir he candidly gave readers a view of his life and his battle with stage IV metastatic lung cancer.
Kalanithi never lived to see who would read his book which has been hailed as to containing very real life lessons.
The book was centre of attraction in Kenya's Milimani law courts as State House digital director Dennis Itumbi was produced before the magistrate for a second time.
Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air is the book Itumbi has been reading while he was in Muthaiga police station cells for the last 5 days.
Itumbi on Wednesday lifted the book up at the Milimani courts as he celebrated his release on Sh100,000 cash bail.
He was arrested last week on Wednesday in Nairobi's CBD over links to the fake assassination letter against Deputy President William Ruto.
Itumbi held the book tightly with his handcuffed hands and did not let it go even after the handcuffs were removed.
One would assume that the book whose theme explores life and death must have given Itumbi the hope for freedom while he was in custody.
Being the vocal Kenyan that many have known him to be, one can bet that this book will soon feature in one of Itumbi's 'Pastor's moment' on Facebook.
Kalanithi evokes the cyclical nature of life and death and the idea of one's legacy is carried on through one's children.
His was a journey of agony, a child full of life who turned out be a neurosurgeon but his cancer diagnosis derailed his career in 2015.
He wrote the book on his death bed as a memoir, which ruminates on life, death, and what it means to be human when a debilitating illness strips you of your identity.
The book recounts Kalanithi's life story, beginning with the onset of symptoms, then taking us back in time to trace his development from a bookish teenager to an inquisitive student.
It moves on to when he was finally a talented and well-trained resident with a bright future in neurosurgery ahead of him.
"I began having symptoms while a resident in neurosurgery. My back began to spasm, and in a period of six months, I lost enough weight to cinch my belt two notches tighter. I suspected that I had cancer even before he saw a doctor."
He said his X-rays looked fine, and he relaxed a bit, chalking up his fatigue to the long hours and stress of being a medical student.
After a series of having chest pains, his wife Lucy and him were supposed to fly to New York to visit friends. Before they left, Kalanithi had a series of tests done, including a chest X-Ray.
That's when he was diagnosed with lung cancer stage IV. He later succumbed to cancer in 2015 before the book was published in 2016.
He says his legacy would be carried on through his children.
In court last week, Itumbi sensationally claimed he has an audio and a video to prove there was a plot to assassinate Deputy President William Ruto.
He requested to play the recordings in court in camera, saying the investigators were aware he has them.
“I have an audio and video recording of material that could show, subject to investigations, that a meeting could have happened at a place called La Mada at which discussions were held on the possibility of the assassination of my employer, particularly the Deputy President," he said.
