Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) in 2016 Reading Challenge Group

Dec 09, 2012 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, favorites, 2016-book-challenge, read-in-2016, 5-stars

God! GOD!! I have got to stop reading these tragic books before I end up on a suicide watch.

This book has altered my DNA and every cell I produce forever more will not be the same. I usually try to avoid spoilers in my reviews but for this book, I find I cannot. If you have not read this book, PLEASE read it before you read my review. Part of the best parts of this book is the emotional journey (and boy howdy is it emotional!!)

The book opens with Will, an able-bodied, vibrant, arrogant man who God! GOD!! I have got to stop reading these tragic books before I end up on a suicide watch.

This book has altered my DNA and every cell I produce forever more will not be the same. I usually try to avoid spoilers in my reviews but for this book, I find I cannot. If you have not read this book, PLEASE read it before you read my review. Part of the best parts of this book is the emotional journey (and boy howdy is it emotional!!)

The book opens with Will, an able-bodied, vibrant, arrogant man who has the world at his fingertips, getting in a terrible accident, which causes him to become a paraplegic. The next chapter is set 2 years later. Will is living with his parents and they are looking to hire a companion for him. As the story unfolds, you find out that Will has attempted suicide in the past and is looking to go to Swtizerland where a group called Dignitas (a real group, I looked them up) will help him with an assisted suicide. The book centers around the 6 months before Will is scheduled to go. Louisa Clark is hired to be his caregiver/companion and though they don't initially like each other, they come to care for each other very much.

So, all this seems light and fluffy, perhaps even a bit of a love story. It is not. Perhaps I come at this book from a different perspective than most. 1. I am a hospice nurse and see what end of life looks like. I see that MOST people regret many of the treatments they elected because though it may (MAY) have prolonged life, it certainly didn't add quality. 2. I have very defined ideas of quality of life and what *I* would be willing to sacrifice (which isn't much.) 3. I'm not religious and I don't believe that suicide is wrong - in the Christian sense. 4. One of my deepest core values is self-autonomy and self-determination. I believe to the very core of my being that people should have the right to a death with dignity; a comfortable death free from pain and anxiety; and when there is no hope for self-defined quality of life, then the right to end that life, free from prosecution and free from judgement.

I cried through MOST of this book (perhaps because of my work, I knew where this book would go from the job interview.) I raged at some of the characters' (and no, it wasn't Will) unwillingness to see his perspective. I believe that it's inherently selfish and somewhat evil to want someone who is miserable to want to live FOR us. I think that is so unfair. So, did I want to slap some of the characters, shake them until they understood what Will is experiencing?? Yes. And in the end, I found peace... sort of. This book attempts to show all sides of the argument and I think does a fair job at it. I was Team Will.

This book has become one of my very favorites. I hope you get something from it too. For me, I will never be the same. Now, I'm going to immediately pick of the sequel and have hope in my heart for Clark. ...more

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Jan 24, 2016 Carol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-rcg-reading-challenge-group

Many excellent reviews have been written.
All I will say is read this book.
It will make you laugh and it will make you cry.
Self determination is so important!

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Feb 22, 2014 Peg - reading heals rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, really-liked, a-r

I wasn't expecting much from this book. Hype and movies being made tend to put me off or expect less of a book. And that's ridiculous. This book made me realize I might want to rethink that attitude.

I picked this up as part of a book challenge I'm doing for the "read a book that's becoming a movie this year" category. The movie is coming out next month. I haven't seen any trailers, I don't know who the actors are and thank god, because I got to experience the book on it's own without interferenc ...more

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Apr 17, 2014 Allison Zieger rated it it was amazing

I really loved the characters in this book! Easy to read, hard to put down!

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Dec 13, 2013 Jen rated it really liked it

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was an easy, quick read. The characters were well-developed and likeable. I did not give it 5 stars because the ending disappointed me.

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