Hi. My name is Baleigh Grace. My major is Rehabilitation and Disability Studies, concentrating in Occupational Therapy, and I love the book (and movie) "Me Before You."
Recently, I have read several articles talking about how this movie is wrong. Now, before I explain what I think, I want you to know that I do not agree with assisted suicide. I respect each and every person that has a disability, as should everyone. I plan to attend Occupational Therapy school, dedicating my life to helping people with disabilities, so I am very well educated on people with disabilities.
Now, I do understand where those that are offended are coming from. I get why people are angry. If you don't read the book or see the movie, then all you know about this book/movie is what you have heard. You've heard that it is about a quadriplegic who wants to die. This is only part of it!My first advice to those who are offended by this movie, is that you should read the book. You have already set your mind on it being an advertisement for assisted suicide. If you read the book, you will see that there is so much more to the book than assisted suicide. Jojo Moyes herself doesn't even agree with this.
With Me Before You, there was one new story in particular that inspired it. This young rugby player in England, who was about 23 years old, persuaded his parents to take him to Dignitas after he'd spent several years as a quadriplegic following a rugby accident. I was so shocked by this story, because I couldn't believe a parent would take their own child to this place. I guess I was quite judgmental as well. The more I read up on it, the more I realized that these parents were in an impossible position because this young man had expressed a determination to fulfill his wish by any means. Being physical had been his whole life and some people are just going to refuse to adapt. They're just not going to do it. It became harder and harder for me to say, "Well this is how it should be." I think as human beings we naturally look for black and white. We look for resolution because it's uncomfortable to live with dissidence in our brain. – Jojo Moyes, July 2013
Jojo Moyes simply wrote a book about a story she heard of a guy in the same situation as Will Traynor. She states in another interview that, “The fact is, in the film as in the book, nobody else agrees with what he decides to do. This is not by any means sending out a message. It’s just about one character — it’s nothing more than that.”
Not one person in the book agrees with what Will wants to do. Louisa spends the majority of time planning activities for Will that she thinks will make him change his mind. His parents gave her unlimited funds to allow all of these activities to happen.
The entire time that Lou is trying to change Will's mind, he is trying to get her to live. Lou has barely been out of their hometown and she worked at the same coffee shop for six years. She didn't have any dreams. Will changed this for her. He wanted her to go and see the world and experience it. She ends up getting to do this! She never would have if she hadn't met Will!
In this day and age, it seems that no matter what it is someone is offended. I am pretty sure that people would have complained if it ended happily. So really, they can't win. Sometimes there isn't a happy ending. Jojo Moyes wrote this book to be based on a true story. She didn't just decide to write a book with this ending. Personally, I see this book as showing how awful assisted suicide is rather than being and advertisement for it.
So I encourage all of you who are offended, to read the book. It might change how you have previously perceived it.
Check out this interview with Jojo Moyes as she responds to the controversy over the portrayal of disability in "Me Before You."
