Me-Before-You-by-Jojo-Moyes

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small town, rather than a city, because I live in one myself and I’m fascinated bythe way that growing up in one can be the greatest comfort – and also incrediblystifling. I wanted a castle because it was the purest example of old moneyrubbing up against ordinary people. Britain is still incredibly hide-bound byclass, and we only really notice it when we go somewhere that it doesn’t exist inthe same way, like the US or Australia. I needed the class difference betweenWill and Lou to be clear.4. Me Before You deals with a very sensitive subject matter – a person’sright to die. Did you find this difficult to write about? What made youdecide to write about this subject?A few years ago, I heard about the case of Daniel James, a young rugby playerwho was paralysed and persuaded his parents to let him go to Dignitas. I washorrified by this case initially – what mother could do that? – but the more I readabout it I realized that these issues are not black and white. Who is to say whatyour quality of life should mean? How do you face living a life that is so farfrom what you had chosen? What do you do as a parent if your child is reallydetermined to die? And living as a quadriplegic is not just a matter of sitting in achair – it’s a constant battle against pain and infection, as well as the mentalchallenges. So these issues refused to go away. And I do believe you have towrite the book that is burning inside you, even if it’s not the most obvious bookfor the market.In fact, I wrote Me Before You without a publishing contract – and I wasn’tentirely convinced it would find a publisher, given the controversial subjectmatter. It was just something I needed to write. But doing it just for myself wasstrangely liberating. And luckily several publishers bid for it when it wasfinished, so I was very happy to move with it to Penguin.5. Your books always have an incredibly moving love story at the heart ofthem. What is it about the emotional subject of love that makes you want towrite about it?I have no idea! I’m not very romantic in real life. I guess love is the thing thatmakes us do the most extraordinary things – the emotion that can bring us
highest or lowest, or be the most transformative – and extremes of emotion arealways interesting to write about. Plus I’m too wimpy to write horror …6. Have you ever cried while writing a scene in any of your books?Always. If I don’t cry while writing a key emotional scene, my gut feeling is it’sfailed. I want the reader to feel something while reading – and making myselfcry has become my litmus test as to whether that’s working. It’s an odd way toearn a living.
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JOJO MOYESMe Before YouPENGUIN BOOK
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Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapt
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To Charles, with love
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‘Right,’ he says. ‘Got to go.
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‘I didn’t catch that.’The tax
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‘Yup.’ I hung my jacket on the
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My mother’s hand stilled. Her gaz
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‘Bernard.’ Mum shot him a warni
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sure they do a grant for people lik
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He shrugged. ‘You said you liked
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‘I’ll ring them to confirm the
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I was twenty-six years old and I wa
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old days you wouldn’t have dreamt
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‘Frank - the owner - sold the caf
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the French windows. Finally, she tu
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Treena made a face. ‘I think it w
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3‘This is the annexe. It used to
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‘Then let’s go and introduce yo
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mostly my bag, but you do need to k
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‘Will it help?’I blinked, my mo
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hum of the television in the living
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His head had sunk into his shoulder
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‘Oh.’I could feel her watching
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with him, so I’d usually go and s
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I got the feeling that this was in
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Sasha? I’ve been doing a lot of w
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for you and I hope you do want to s
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Diet Cokes. When they, finally, ord
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to stick with them? To help them th
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I blinked. ‘Well … I think some
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5The thing about being catapulted i
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You said that you were hiring me fo
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‘He says you’re trying to poiso
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By the time Hunchback Man died, I w
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divided into ‘transport’, ‘in
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to lose patience. Then, finally, I
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drew closer, I could see the consul
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I took a step backwards, closed the
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I left.I read my magazine, lifting
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Nathan was crosser than I’d ever
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I could hear my father’s exclamat
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‘I suspect you’re going to.’
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lucky. And she said from the day sh
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‘Will … ’ I said, quietly.
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7Spring arrived overnight, as if wi
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It’s not that I was some kind of
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‘What does she have to be insecur
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There were all sorts of things that
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I twisted his straw round so that h
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dehumanized briskness that characte
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‘Please. Georgina.’ Mrs Traynor
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another long silence. And then Geor
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8CamillaI never set out to help kil
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It was that I could suddenly see no
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When Will first told me what he wan
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9I didn’t sleep that night. I lay
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I had been tidying the living room.
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probably ask why I couldn’t be mo
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I slid out from the porch and was d
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‘No. That’s not it.’‘Which
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whatever it is you’re going to th
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I looked at my sister hard. ‘You
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10They looked a bit surprised. Actu
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We all stared at our cups of tea.
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‘You’re probably going to have
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‘Can quadriplegics get drunk?’
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‘Would you jump in my grave so qu
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Four hours later I had the beginnin
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‘You look cheerful,’ Will said,
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I backed Will’s chair down carefu
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We watched the Sisterwood Cup, and
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fears at all that I was going to or
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Will his posh lunch in a restaurant
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‘It’s not going to happen,’ s
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Nathan was staring at the cans of l
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badges we might have had a nice lun
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And I had ideas. Things I wanted to
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‘You’ve never been to a concert
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‘And it’s incredibly tedious,
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Nathan went to pack Will’s bag. I
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Will looked sideways at me, his fac
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‘Are you all right?’ I found my
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13Patrick stood on the edge of the
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‘Yeah? Well it’s still better t
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‘I get nervous when a girl says s
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‘So … ’ Dad opened the fridge
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‘If you do that,’ Will observed
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it’s like a brain synapse - it ca
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‘It does, Mum.’ My eyes had fil
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‘Good to meet you, Patrick,’ Wi
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I stared at it. Will’s card. I ha
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I looked up the same piece at the l
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Perhaps it was something to do with
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Like it was some kind of contest.I
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Will was silent for a moment. I wat
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He swallowed. ‘The day we go and
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Mrs Traynor had waited until Nathan
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She and Leo’s father had been int
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television?’‘No,’ said Will.
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‘I’d be finding out what I coul
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him twice, bringing him music and n
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I scanned down to the next one.Dear
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their lift was out of order. Others
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‘Because your boyfriend says no.
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‘Nathan will enjoy it. Oh, come o
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and Dad decided it would be best if
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my problems. They seemed embarrassi
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‘Was he with someone?’I put the
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‘Oh, well. Here’s my stop.’ D
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‘Are you okay getting your own te
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His voice, when it came, was carefu
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he could not live without his girlf
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In the afternoon, there was a knock
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‘The Regent Street? Nice.’‘Ye
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And then, as he left to go running,
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She blinked hard, as if trying to t
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‘How dare you suggest I would do
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‘Come on. It’s finally stopped
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moving on with their lives. I made
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to work out where I was. The tall h
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minutes, perhaps talking, and then
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world, the warmth of Will’s hand
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‘Um … nothing. Patrick’s away
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The morning of the wedding dawned b
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ground. Across the road from us in
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I just wanted to make it better.‘
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tense. They were like two dogs circ
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Will looked as if he were about to
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Something happened that evening. Th
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‘Come on. Let’s give these fuck
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19NathanThey thought we couldn’t
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propped him up, placing his legs ov
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I couldn’t really blame the guy.
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20‘You what?’We were on the hil
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‘But Will Traynor seems to take p
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Ritchie, had remembered my previous
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She glanced through it all in silen
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‘I could apply for a grant. Or ma
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‘All that said, the college idea
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sure that I didn’t lose sight of
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‘But I -’‘Nearly seven years,
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We never got to the bottom of what
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and that wretched Alicia running of
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22I ran into Accident and Emergency
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sure his own passport was still val
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I took his fingers gently in mine a
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‘How does he look?’‘Bit bette
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We sat holding our mugs. From the c
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‘I can’t.’I stared at my pass
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moved from his power chair until we
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cover of a blanket. The airline sta
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The hotel had, as promised, come up
Page 307 and 308: worked out that if he gave Will the
Page 309 and 310: I walked to the window and pulled b
Page 311 and 312: Two things happened on the last day
Page 313 and 314: ‘It’s a hard place to leave.’
Page 315 and 316: Will’s mouth closed on his words.
Page 317 and 318: I … I can’t live with that know
Page 319 and 320: 24There is nothing more disconcerti
Page 321 and 322: So although I looked childish - alt
Page 323 and 324: My voice broke into the conversatio
Page 325 and 326: 25KatrinaLouisa didn’t come out o
Page 327 and 328: Her voice was small, like Thomas’
Page 329 and 330: ‘Just leave me alone, Treen. Okay
Page 331 and 332: ‘Oh, that.’ She looked distract
Page 333 and 334: goodness’ sake. You’d think a m
Page 335 and 336: her umbrella and smiled, reaching r
Page 337 and 338: Twenty-six. Twenty-six of the bugge
Page 339 and 340: 26In other circumstances I suppose
Page 341 and 342: knowing what … what he’s …
Page 343 and 344: I didn’t look back. I ran all the
Page 345 and 346: things being better for him, then I
Page 347 and 348: ‘I know.’And there it was. He k
Page 349 and 350: ‘You look absolutely beautiful.
Page 351 and 352: Mr Traynor some questions may be as
Page 353 and 354: EpilogueI was just following instru
Page 355 and 356: You’re going to feel uncomfortabl
Page 357: Q&A with Jojo1. Tell us a little ab
Page 362 and 363: purpose. I sat upright in bed, drag
Page 364 and 365: shaven, impassive. Even in the dark
Page 366 and 367: terrify two women and brutalize an
Page 368 and 369: as she crouched to hug her daughter
Page 370: PENGUIN BOOKSPublished by the Pengu
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