Have you guys heard Adele's new single, like YAS! It's so good! Just had to get that out in the open. So, this past week I had the wonderful pleasure of reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes! It was a roller coaster of a book; I laughed, and I cried tremendously!
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
My Thoughts:
*****5 STARS*****
Penguin Books sent me this novel in exchange for an honest review! First things first, I'd like to thank Penguin Books once again for sending me this book! As I write this review I'm lying in bed-- a bed I needed asstiance getting into-- with my arms and legs propped on pillows to help me stay in a comfortable position. You see, when I was two years old I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type II resulting in me spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair. Let me just explain that medical jargon to you a little bit. SMA causes acute muscle weakness and scoliosis (a curvature of the spine).
I knew going into this novel it was going to be an emotional read, but it was a little more emotional for me because I understood Will Trayner on a more personal level. This book tore my heart out in the best way possible.
Me Before You follows Lousia Clark, a normal twenty six year old young woman living an exceedingly unextrodinrary life (at least in her eyes). She has a boyfriend Patrick whose more concerned about his exercise regime and how to cook chicken breast for dinner every night (low fat content)! Lou lives with her lovable mother and father and sister and her nephew Thomas and her aging grandfather. Lou's family gave me a lot of laughs with how down to earth they were! I would love to sit down and have a cup of tea with the Clark family anyday! Lousia helps support her family finically by working at a local bakery. When the bakery closes unexpectedly Lou is forced to search for another job. That search leads her straight to Will Trayners doorstep.
Will Trayner seemed to have had it all; weatlth, power, a beautiful girlfriend, a job, a life... When a horrific accident one rainy day leaves Will paralyzed his entire life slips away. In an instant everything has changed for Will Trayner. Life as he knew it would never be the same. There would be no more rock climbing, bungee jumping, or hiking. The accident left Will paralyzed, trapped in his own mind and body unable to move or care for himself anymore. He now required 24/7 care.
After years spent in a wheelchair Will became extremely depressed. He spent years trapped in a body that now betrayed him with only the ability to think about everything he had lost. He couldn't enjoy getting up and out of bed to read the morning paper and drink a cup of coffee that he had brewed without having someone help him do so. The simple freedoms he once enjoyed are now gone, a thing of the past.
Will had chose to end his life in six months with the help of an assisted suicide facility called Dignitas despite his family's best efforts to persuade him otherwise. They believed Will should continue to live his life the best he could. But it was the only choice Will had left that he could make for himself.
Upon Lou coming to work for the Trayner family she had no knowledge of Will's plans to end his life. Will and Lou were polar opposites and didn't quite like each other all that much when things first started out. But as Will and Lou became comfortable with one another she learned of his plans to end his life and set out on a mission to show him that life could still be worth living even if it had to be lived a bit differently.
The love that grew between Will and Lou was a rare kind. It was an honest kind of love. A love that will stay with me forever.
This book...wow. I'm crying writing this review right now just FYI for you guys. I understood Will's reasoning for wanting to end his life more than I can form words to express at the moment. It's hard having to sit in a chair day in and day out and watch everyone else around you live a life you wish you could live. It had to have been even harder to have lived that life and then have it taken from you. I commend Lou for everything she did to persuade Will to change his mind and for loving him unconditionally!
This book is so beautifully raw and well written and so god damn emotional. Jojo Moyes wrote an amazing book that I will recommend until the end of time. Thank you for writing something so brutally honest and real.
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