Patrick Mckeon’s book The Oxygen Advantage opened the door to basic medical knowledge that I had never considered because of how compromised western medicine is in many ways. His writing solved my health problems. The book is not a page-turner in the same way a crime novel is, but each page was so profound in an understandable way that I became addicted to the content. I could not put the book down and when I finally did I could not stop thinking about what I had just read.

Mr. McKeon wrote this book with the intention of sharing his knowledge of the human respiratory system. He had severe asthma as a child and this meant he was unable to keep up with his friends during his favorite sport; cricket. There is no cure for asthma but McKeon researched how the human body breathes while he studied at university. He realized he had been a severe mouth breather and that was worsening his asthma along with ruining his dental health because of how compromised his airway and jaw had become with a lack of nasal activation. After forcing himself to only breathe through his nose with attention to the quality of each inhale and exhale, he became an entirely new person. His asthma became less noticeable, and his facial structure improved from the nonsymmetrical form it had assumed after years of bad breathing habits. Mckeon says he felt inclined to share this knowledge with the world because 50% of adults mouth breathe and that means 50% of the world is driving with their parking brake on.

The Oxygen Advantage is not just a textbook filled with statistics and fancy scientific words. McKeon relates the content to real-life scenarios with patients whose lives have been changed and athletes who have greatly improved in their sport by understanding his techniques and using their body the way it was made to. “Breathing is the most natural thing we do. Somehow most of the world doesn’t know how to do it” (Mckeon 29). The Oxygen Advantage displays common knowledge that is overlooked by western medicine which at times prioritizes profit instead of results. McKeon wants to display his findings to the world in hope of his readers using this basic understanding to better themselves and those around them.

The main reason I loved this book so much was that it solved a lot of my medical compromisations. I have struggled with mouth breathing my whole life because of extreme nasal congestion year-round. The most notable victim of this compromise was my respiratory system. I love athletics and I have been running around in sports or marathons for a long time. I kept hitting an (at the time) unexplainable barrier in my running. I panted uncontrollably in exercises where my peers remained calm in their breathing. It didn't matter at the time because I just pushed through but after reading just the first chapter of McKeon’s book, it started to make sense. I needed to force myself to learn how to properly breathe. I started rehearsing McKeon's “BOLT” exercise which is a breath-holding technique where you hold your breath while walking and take as many steps as possible until you feel the urge to breathe. This practice of limiting oxygen in my lungs expanded them and made it easier for me to breathe properly. It took several months but I saw the results and it has made my life so much easier.

Obviously, this topic is not one that attracts all readers. I think it is well-titled and that title is what makes readers give it a chance. If it was titled “how to breathe” a lot of people would assume it's just a scientist proclaiming their medical opinions in fancy ways. This is far from the content in The Oxygen Advantage. Mckeon doesn't force his beliefs on you, he displays it in a way that even a 16-year-old boy can understand. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a healthier version of themselves.