Title: Out of Reach
Author: Missy Johnson
Release Date: May 8, 2014
My best friend was dying and I was in love with his girl.
Andy and I had been best friends since we were eight-years old.
Andy and I had been best friends since we were eight-years old.
Watching him slowly fade away, ever closer to his final breath, made me so incredibly angry. I knew there was nothing I could do to change it--I had given in to despair, but Andy had not. He had one last hand to play.
He wasn't going to simply sit back and wait for Death to claim him--not Andy. He was going to live life until he couldn't hold his eyes open any longer.
Andy didn't want to die in some sterile hospital and asked me to take him and Emily to the beach. It would be our last road trip together.
Emily. Emily was a problem for me.
I harbored a secret that would have torn our friendship apart. I was in love with Andy's girl, and had been since she'd walked into our sixth grade class, so many years ago.
So what kind of person am I? My best friend is dying, and it's awful--but my heart still aches for his girl. I hate myself for thinking beyond Andy's death and whether there could ever be a future for Emily and I, but I can't help it.
I'm in love with her.
ADD TO GOODREADS
4 Star Review by Jen Hagen
Andy is 23 years old and is dying from cancer. He has been battling melanoma for 6 years and
it has now metastasized into other organs, including his brain. He is terminal and has at best a month left
to live. Andy has always been full of
life and he intends to spend his last weeks on earth continuing to enjoy life.
Emily has been Andy’s girlfriend since the beginning of
his diagnosis. She has stood by his side
and has lovingly taken care of him. She
has no family of her own as her parents were killed in a car accident when she
was 14 years old. The love from Andy’s
family is very dear to Emily and she would never do anything to jeopardize the
closest thing to family that she has.
Seth has been Andy’s best friend since they were
kids. Along the way he also fell in love
with Emily, but it was Andy that made the move and stole Emily’s heart. Besides having Andy as his best friend, Emily
is also a very close friend. The three
of them have always been very tight with each other. He has never spoken about his hidden love for
Emily knowing that the uncovering of his secret would only create problems
between the three of them.
When it comes time to live out Andy’s final days, he
doesn’t want to do that from the confines of his parent’s home; rather, he
wants to live vicariously through his friends. Andy has a bucket list that he
had started but never got to finish. If
he can’t carry out the tasks, he is going to have his two closest friends do it
for him and he is going to film these last memories. His hidden agenda is to make happy memories
for Emily and Seth to have after he is gone.
Seth hasn’t done a very good job of hiding his deep love
for Emily. Andy is fully aware of it and
besides having Seth and Emily live out his adventure fantasies, he wants Seth
to know that he is to take care of Emily after he has passed away.
Most people would
probably think it was weird, me trying to hook up my girlfriend and my best
friend, but with the exception of me, I couldn’t think of anyone who would love
her and care for her the way she deserved to be cared – except him.
Andy has accepted his death, but it’s knowing that he is
leaving Emily behind that scares him – I
was going to miss her so much. Dying held no fear at all in comparison to
losing her.
After his death, will Seth and Emily be ready to move on
from their grief of losing Andy or will his last wish be enough to push aside
their guilt of wanting to be with each?
“He’s gone and I
can’t love you, no matter how much I want to.
I just can’t! Everything about
you makes me think of him.”
I enjoyed reading this different play on a character’s
death/dying and leaving a loved one behind.
I smiled at Andy’s antics and his ability to make everybody feel
comfortable with his diagnosis and his inevitable death. This was a quick read but don’t let that fool
you about how powerful this story is.
Your emotions will be pulled out of you from the first page and you will
spend the majority of your time wiping your eyes.
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