Book Review of 'Me Before You' by Jojo Moyes

Me Before you is a book which is loved by many, selling millions of copies worldwide. It was inspired by real-life events; Moyes heard a news story about a young man who became paraplegic following an accident, which inspired her write this story, exploring the idea of what it would be like for an individual who was put into this position, and what it would be like if someone you loved made that decision. Moyes does this well, pulling the reader into the story and enabling you to relate to the characters and their feelings. However, the message which this book sends on disability and suicide is questionable, as it is not a normal or acceptable choice to make in that situation.  

This story focuses on Louisa, a quirky twenty-something who lives in a small town and is employed by the Traynors as a carer for their son Will, who has become quadriplegic following a motor cycle accident. Will was a man who had it all; privilege, money and an exciting life full of adventure and travel. Following his accident, he is no longer able to do these things, or at least not in the way that he used to, and as such he wants to end his life.
Louisa overhears a conversation and finds out that Will is planning to commit assisted suicide, and has agreed to give his parents 6 months till then. Louisa then agrees to Mrs. Traynors plea to try and change Will’s mind, doing everything she can, coming up with lists and ideas, to show Will that life is worth living.

A few things I enjoyed about this book were, firstly, I enjoyed the British humour, and the feel of a cosy, small town read. I am a romantic at heart, and a sucker for a love story, no matter how tragic. And secondly, having already watched the movie before reading this, in which the leads are played by Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin who are both well-loved actors, I did warm up to their characters. The way in which their relationship developed was heart-warming, how Louisa cared for Will and he encouraged her to expand her horizons.

Here however, lies the contradiction of this story. Although Will shows Louisa that life has endless possibilities, and that she should go out there and explore them, Will still ends up deciding to go through with his plan, and his parents and Louisa have no choice but to agree to respect his decision. One thing that is problematic about this is that it perpetuates the idea that a life with disabilities is not a life worth living. Despite Will telling Louisa to live her life to the fullest, and expand her horizons, Will doesn’t believe that this is the case for himself. He thinks that his disability means that it’s ok for him not to value his life. He never comes to terms with the fact that his life is going to be different and he needs to accept that and try to make the most of it. This idea of never settling and instead trying making the best of your situation is questionable as it says that if you can’t have the best position in life, you may as well not try.

Ultimately, this book was marketed as a romance/ drama about two people who fall in love, but this is not actually the main theme of the book. Although it is perhaps acceptable that if people with disabilities decide to commit assisted suicide you should respect their choice, the authors subliminal message in this story that it is a normal ‘acceptable’ choice to make in that situation is not. This is because it reinforces dangerous assumptions already held by able bodied people in society that if they were in that position, they would want to die too. Whereas, disabled people often adjust with support and time, therefore we should be giving them the best care and treatment possible to stop them from being suicidal. Therefore, in a book that is being consumed by mainstream media, it is unfavourably influencing people’s opinions on disability and suicide on a huge scale.