What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.
So if you are looking for a feel good read this is probably not your best choice of book, I'll let you know that straight out the gate. Me Before You has a pretty heavy and controversial plot covering the topic of assisted suicide and the morality behind such a heavy decision.
This story is deep and moving and while it doesn't have a rosy happily ever after ending you would want or hope for
the author remains true to her characters and the story not pulling any punches with this controversial story line.
Will Traynor was powerful, successful handsome, and lived each day to the absolute fullest. He loved his life and filled it with adventures, that pushed his strength and stamina; that is until he was the victim of a motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down; his once full active, independent life has now become, filled with being cared for daily by his nurse, unable to do the most basic of tasks that we all take for granted. Will is angry, sarcastic, and longs for the life he used to have.
Lou Clark is a waitress at a local cafe, happy with the status quo, with no ambitions to leave it; until the owner of the cafe informs her that the cafe will be closing down. Still living at home, Lou helps contribute to the family finances and immediately sets out to find another job, after a string of unsuitable positions. Lou is offered a position as a caregiver on a six month contract that will change her life in ways most unexpected.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this story, the characters are flawed but so relateable the majority of the story is done in Lou's pov and we are limited to a few sections of Will's pov which I think was brilliant, so none of us can every really know what was going on in Will's head, how much pain he was in or how miserable he really was trapped inside his now broken body. I found myself thinking about the moral conflicts facing each of these characters and what is right and wrong when you are faced with looking at someone else's point of view, and what I would have done if I were in Will or Lou's shoes.
I think the author has done an incredible job getting right into the nitty gritty of the situation and the complexity of emotions going on with all the characters. It was an extremely thought provoking story, one that I am not afraid to admit had me crying, big fat ugly tears, wishing the story had ended differently but knowing that there was no other way for the author to remain so true and authentic any other way.
I gave this story a 5 out of 5 star review