I keep seeing articles about how bad "Me Before You" is and how it should be boycotted, and frankly, I don’t agree. If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie I am going to talk about a major plot point that is ultimately a spoiler. So if you don’t want to know before reading or watching, I suggest you click out of my article.

I very recently read this wonderful book but have yet to see the movie, and it seems like a lot of the complaints are about the movie. Movies always cut stuff out to make it fit the timeframe, so perhaps some things got lost. The main issue people are having is they feel the movie treats life with a disability as one not worth living.

The character of Will Traynor is a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident that took the use of his legs and most of his body. He has an immensely difficult time transitioning from this very self-sufficient and adventurous businessman to a man who can no longer work and must rely on others for help. I think we all can agree that this transition would not be easy and it would be difficult to cope with. Will cannot cope with it and has told his parents he will stay alive for another six months to see if he can find life worth living again. If not, then they will take him to commit assisted suicide.

I can see how this is a disturbing turn of events for many viewers, because how could someone not want to live out their life, even if it’s not the one the person intended on living? I think it is a very realistic take on how detrimental something like that could be to a person. I am unsure if this is left out of the movie, but in the book, Will’s caretaker and love interest, Lou, spends some time talking to people who have the same disability as Will in a chat room. They tell Lou that many of them have found happiness in their lives after the accident but some can never bounce back from it. The important issue they raise is you can’t force anyone to be happy or live a life they don’t want to. They tell her to be supportive of him no matter what he chooses because it’s his life and not hers, and as much as we think we know what is best for them, we don’t.

This is why I think the movie and book are important. It just isn’t realistic that every person who faces this challenge will end up happy, even with love in their lives. Love doesn’t conquer all and we can’t keep portraying it in Hollywood as if it will make everything better. Will even tells Lou that, even though he is in love with her, he would feel constantly inadequate because he wouldn’t be able to do things for her he feels she deserves. He feels she wouldn’t be able to live her best life by taking care of him forever because he will only get worse.

Basically what I’m saying is this movie shows another side, that isn’t so happy, of coping with a huge life change. Not everyone will be happy when things like this happen, and to show otherwise is toxic and dangerous.