Popular novel "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes explains a life as a quadriplegic. For those who are unaware, a quadriplegic is someone who is paralyzed from the neck down. Will Traynor was paralyzed in a terrible accident. This story depicts his life and the many challenges that he must face. Will must learn how to accept the fact that he will never be able to relive the adventures he once enjoyed. His family hires a caregiver Louisa that attends to his every need and tries to impose some positive energy on him.
This book explains the purpose of life itself. Each one of us is faced with tremendous obstacles that we must face big and small. Every one of us makes a choice when faced with an obstacle we can let this obstacle define us or we can overcome it and try to make the most of each day. The story begins with a depressed Will. He believes that there is no reason to live any longer in his state. Honestly, I cannot say I blame the guy if I were in that predicament I do not know what I would have done. But, as the story progresses he meets Louisa who changes his perspective on life.
This book made me think about how important it is for us to recognize that others can have a positive impact on our lives if we allow them to. Louisa constantly tired to give Will a positive atmosphere and the will to keep trying. Nonetheless, it is the person in distress who must choose a happy life. People can only get help if they accept it. I think that this concept is very difficult for others to understand. People do not realize that you must help those who want to be helped. A person can only change their mentality if they want to change.
It is evident that Will felt helpless in this story because he did not think that he could do anything himself. Having someone force feed him and wheel him around his whole life in a chair meant that had little to no control of his own life. I think this was the most difficult thing for Will to accept. Others around him always assumed what was best for him because it was hard for him to make his own decisions considering he was stuck in a wheelchair with limp limbs.
The only thing that Will wanted was to be in control of his own life, that is what we all want to be able to make good decisions for ourselves. Will’s mother and father constantly made decisions for him and assumed what he would want. The good things about Louisa was that she wasn’t like that. She made him feel as though he was still a man. Allowing Will to make his own decisions made him feel worth it and that is what made his life feel as though it was worth living.
Louisa helped Will become a better man, but it was also Will that allowed Louisa to change his perspective. Everyone goes through trying times and must learn to live through them. We must all remember that this life is worth living no matter the obstacle and make the best of each day because we never know which will be our last.
