Distant Pillow Books

I'm still a bit dumbfounded by this book even though it has been several days since I completed it. It took me by surprise by how much of a strong reaction it seized from me. I sat the book down thinking I had absolutely just read a five star book, however after really thinking about it, some things made me feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing.

People with physical and mental differences are not placed on this Earth to inspire the lives of able-bodied people. 

And again...

People with physical and mental differences are not placed on this Earth to inspire the lives of able-bodied people.

Will Traynor was a successful, handsome, wealthy, charismatic young man until March 22, 2007 when he was involved in a motor accident which resulted in the loss of all four of his limbs.

I have very limited knowledge about quadriplegia and I can't even begin to imagine loosing the mobility of my body so Will's reaction to the situation didn't seem overly dramatic. Especially since, as it was hinted at on several occasions, he suffered with extreme depression.

After his first suicide attempt, where was the professional help? With a mother who seemingly cared a lot about her son and who had all the money in the world to spend, professional help should have been a must.

I get it. It's a work of fiction. That's fine. The way that Will's character was written I can only assume that professional psychiatric help would have been lost on him. I can imagine all too well him completely refusing to cooperate. He's shown us as much during Lou's first few weeks as his caregiver.

Lou's character is very lovable right from the get-go. She's seen as a hard worker trying to help out her family by keeping them fed. Money is an issue for them, so when Lou get's a job working for the Traynors, she is seen as the main bread-winner.

Her character is great. She's seen as dynamic and there is a very human quality to her that makes her relatable. The journey she goes on with Will is, at first, very heart breaking and beautiful. While you're reading it, their story is addictive and keeps you turning pages. You care so deeply for Lou and Will and that is undoubtedly why the ending creates such an impact on the reader.

But looking back, Will had absolutely no character development. This story was told for Lou's sake, to show how she came out of her shell and started taking risks and learning to live the life she never knew she wanted, all the while living off the dime of her conveniently wealthy friend.

I feel like the author missed a golden opportunity to tell a story about the power of love and how with it you can learn to live a perfectly wonderful life even while suffering with something as terrible as Will did. For people who are touched by extreme physical disability, this story seems a bit hopeless.

However I don't think the author's intent was to tell a hopeless story. I think she set out to tell the story of Will and Louisa and what transpired between their six months together. Will was arrogant and selfish, but he was also in a tremendous amount of pain.

It's not my place to judge whether Will made the correct choice, but it is my place to say what I got out of the story and whether I thought it was worth the read. And it is.

The story is beautiful and well written. By the end of it I was touched and sobbing and wanting more. More importantly, it made me think about some pretty difficult topics. It's a book that has stayed with me and a book that I will be thinking about more as time goes on.