Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

[BookFever]

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes is a book that follows Louisa ("Lou"), a twenty-six year old who has been in a seven-year relationship that just doesn't seem to be going anywhere, lives at home to help her family make ends meet, and has just been laid off when her boss decides to move out of the country and close his business. When job searching has proven unsuccessful, Lou takes a six-month job as Will Traynor's non-medical caregiver out of sheer financial desperation. Will Traynor was a very intelligent businessman, was well-traveled, well-repsected, and lived his life to the fullest before the tragic motor accident that left Will as a quadriplegic, confined to his wheelchair for the rest of his life while in a constant state of pain and discomfort. Lou and Will get off to a rocky start. Will is rude, accusatory, critical, and just downright grumpy. But the pay is good and, even with early thoughts of quitting, Lou sticks it out. Over the weeks, Lou and Will start to form a connection. Lou learns Will's wants and needs without even having to ask. She feels his pains as well as his happier moments as if they were her own. Her care of him becomes easy, second-nature, and even, dare she say it, enjoyable. These two people who grew up in the same town and would have never crossed paths but for the day of Will's accident, give each of them an unspoken respect for each other. Finally, Lou is able to break down a wall that not even Will's family members or Nathan, his medical caregiver and the one person Will seems to even halfway enjoy, have been able to scale.

However, a short time into her employment, Lou is shocked when she secretly learns of Will's wish to end this unbearable life. Over the span of the next few months, Lou, who has come to deeply care for Will, desperately devises a plan to show Will the fulfilling and adventurous life he can still lead even while living with almost complete lack of body movement. Will becomes Lou's only priority, straining her relationships with her family and boyfriend, but she will stop at nothing to change his mind. When the six months is up, Lou really believes she has changed his outlook on his own life.

But has she done it? Is Lou enough to make Will want to live?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I really enjoyed this book. Moyes' writes clearly, descriptively, and captivatingly. She addresses a topic that exists in reality and leaves the reader to see how hard it is for those surrounding a devastated loved one to come to terms with the desire to end one's life. In addition to Lou, we get small glimpses into the minds of each of the surrounding family members and friends in both Will and Lou's lives. We develop a better understanding of each character and why they have the relationships with Will and Lou that they do. We grow to love Will, despite his sometimes ignorant and snide remarks. We understand the foundations of his now everyday frustrations and we cheer on Lou as she sets her life on a different track to change Will's life solely out her love and appreciation for him.

[Fran]

Duplicate topic
forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php ... ilit=Moyes