Who has the right to choose death, and does true love mean holding on or letting go for the ones you love?

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes is the story of a man who loses his will to live due to paralysis and the woman who becomes his caregiver, asking questions about life and death, choice, dignity, and the true meaning of love.

 

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book that kept me glued to the pages for an entire day. It’s Jojo Moyes’s epic novel Me Before You. When I first saw it in a bookstore, I thought it had a beautiful cover, but I never thought to buy it because of its enormous thickness. But then it became a bestseller and I was intrigued enough to start reading it.
At first, I didn’t expect to finish a massive novel like Me Before You. But to my surprise, the book was very easy to read, and before I knew it, I found myself losing track of time and reading intently. The novel deals with the right to choose one’s own death through the tense confrontation between those who want to die and those who want to live. The suspense makes it impossible to put the book down, and Me Before You, which was also made into a movie, has resonated with many people and has been shared widely.
Me Before You is a three-part story that centers on the psychological transformation of the main character, Louisa Clark. While looking for a new job, Louisa Clark is hired as a six-month temporary caregiver for William Traynor, a man paralyzed in an accident. William has completely lost his will to live after his accident, but Louisa approaches him by dressing in shabby clothes and cracking humorous jokes. William keeps his distance at first, but over time, he begins to warm up to her.
One day, Louisa learns of a secret pact between William and his parents. If William doesn’t change his mind about his life within six months, they will respect his decision. Devastated, Louisa tries to save him and does everything in her power to convince him to change his life. As the time of the appointment approaches and a smile begins to appear on William’s face, Louisa confesses her love to him, hoping to sway his resolve.
But contrary to her expectations, William remains steadfast in his decision. Despairing, Louisa decides to leave him and tells him she can’t support his choice. In the end, however, she respects William’s decision and watches him die with dignity. Louisa realizes that true love is not about holding on to him, but about letting him go freely. Before he dies, William leaves Louisa his will, helping her to move on to a new world.
Before writing this novel, Jojo Moyes said she wanted to tackle a topic that everyone should consider at least once in their lives. She wanted to ask the question, “How do we live our lives?” and who gets to make that choice. She also wanted readers to consider the question, “What does it mean to live life to the fullest?”
The book became a bestseller for three main reasons. First, a change in genre. Me Before You starts out as a light romantic comedy, but the story shifts to a heavy romance when William’s parents’ promise is mentioned. Readers are left to ponder the question, “Why do we live when the despair of death awaits us?” Moyes takes the reader from a light-hearted read to a more emotional one, showing the beauty of life and the value of challenges.
Second, the ending is unusual. Readers expect a happy ending for William and Louisa, but William is determined. His death raises the question of whether Louisa will be happy, but William’s words change my mind. “I suppose it might be okay to live like this, but this isn’t my life, and I loved my life.” This line refers to his vibrant, colorful life before the accident. While he was happy to have his loved ones by his side, the reality of not being able to do anything about it only made him suffer more. William chooses to die to escape that pain.
Third, we have a new protagonist. Usually, in a story about a person with a terminal illness, the lover takes on the role of comforting the patient. In Me Before You, however, William gives Louisa a sense of the value of life. He encourages her to leave her hometown and experience the wider world, and to take on new challenges in life, even in death.
What also makes this book unique is that William’s terminal condition is not just a terminal illness, but a controversial topic of death with dignity. In the past, there was much opposition to aid in dying, but social attitudes have changed and aid in dying is a modern social phenomenon. As Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu once said, “People have the right to choose for themselves when and how they die.” Moyes reflected this shift by asking the public about death with dignity.
Me Before You didn’t just happen to be a bestseller. Its genre shift, fresh ending, and original protagonist made it a breath of fresh air. It was this freshness that drew readers to the book, tapping into their deepest emotions and making it an international bestseller.
The movie version of Me Before You captures the emotional impact of the book. While movies based on books are often criticized for not being able to live up to the original, many readers went to the movies to share the same emotions. The emotions and themes that the movie conveyed resonated deeply with readers.
After all, humans live to find the meaning of life. There is no right answer to the question, “Who has the right to decide what kind of life to live, and who has the right to choose death?” So we crave new answers, even if they are subjective. Me Before You is Jojo Moyes’ own answer to these questions. And we read Me Before You today to find those answers.