They Both Die at the End Discussion Part One

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay about writing this post. I’ve had a busier week than I thought I would have. But I’m back!

In this discussion, we are only talking about the first part, so if you have read more, please refrain from mentioning it to avoid spoiling the book for others. Thank you! If you haven’t finished Part One, just know that there will be spoilers ahead!

Welcome to our first discussion of our Book Club! This month my pick is They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera.

I have originally got this book in a little while ago. I also bought this book for my friend’s birthday, and I had waited for him to catch up in reading this book. I had put the book down, while waiting for him to be on the same page as me. I had to restart from the beginning just in case I had missed something, but I also needed a refresher of the book to confidently talk about it with you.

Part One of the book introduces the concept about Death-Cast, and how they end up calling Mateo and Rufus (the two main characters in the book) to warn them that some time in the next twenty four hours their life will end. It is a reminder that they need to make today count, since it is their last day.

We learn that Mateo’s dad has been in a coma for the past two weeks. Rufus’ parents and sister died in a car accident when their car tumbled into the Hudson River. Since the accident Rufus has ended up in foster care. Before Rufus received his call from Death Cast, he is beating his ex girlfriend’s boyfriend. He then makes a vow to myself that he will die being a nice person. He decides to throw himself a funeral so his friends can honour and remember his life. But his funeral is then crashed by the police who try to arrest him for beating up Peck. Rufus then discovers an app called Last Friend and connects with Mateo, who also received his Death-Cast call earlier. Mateo only really has two friends, his Dad, and Lydia. He decides that he doesn’t want to burden with her about him dying some time today. He decides to sign up for Last Friend. He has always wished to be a carefree and outgoing person, but sadly he isn’t. So he hopes that this app is able to help him break out of his shell. The two of them agree to meet each other in real life after talking and connecting with one another.

“Life this day to the fullest, okay?”

-Death Cast

“No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end.”

-Adam Silvera

So here are my discussion questions for anyone who has read Part One yet.

  1. How would you like to spend your last day on earth?
  2. If you were to tell anyone about you receiving a call from Death-Cast, who will you tell?
  3. Why do you think that Mateo decided not to tell Lydia about him receiving the call from Death-Cast? Who do you think benefited from it? Mateo? Or Lidia?
  4. How did this story change the idea of your life and death?
  5. Did either Mateo or Rufus’ family relate to your family? If so, how?
  6. Would you like to know the exact day you will die, if there was a way of knowing?
  7. Have you ever encountered a near death experience? If so, what was it? And how did it change your life?

My Answers

  1. I would spend my last day with the people that I love. I would have a cup of tea out of my Papa’s tea pot since that brings me a lot of joy. I would love to throw myself a party, that includes dancing and drinking. If I was scheduled to work, I would call in, teehee! I would get my nails done one last time. I would go out for breakfast, because I love pancakes! I would have pasta for lunch, and then Thai food for dinner, hopefully. I would also write a letter to my favourite people reminding them how much I love them, and give them some advice and wisdom to help them even after my passing. I would also include my favourite memories together.
  2. I will tell my parents, sister and my two friends that I had received my call from Death-Cast. I also would write a quick post on my blog site including my acknowledgements and how much I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments, and their positive words of encouragement as well.
  3. I think that Mateo decided not to tell Lidia because he didn’t want to burden her with him passing away especially since he was the Godfather to her daughter. I think it was for Mateo’s benefit not to tell her since he didn’t want to be the one that would have to tell her that he will die within the next twenty four hours. Because he couldn’t change the outcome of when he was going to die, he was protecting himself by not having to tell her. Lidia has experienced so much sadness especially since her boyfriend had already passed away.
  4. The concept of this story has showed me that life is precious. And that sometimes the people we meet can be the ones that bring out the best of us more than the ones we know and love. It has reminded that we must try to live each day to the fullest, instead of doing mindless things that just kill time, like too much time on our phones, too much aimless scrolling, and not enough living. It really is important and necessary to do things that we love.
  5. I wasn’t really able to relate to either Mateo’s and Rufus’ family. Although I have experienced loss of loved ones. The hardest loss that I had faced was my Grandpa. So I was able to relate to that aspect of that.
  6. I think I wouldn’t mind knowing when my End Date will be. I like that it would give me time to plan the day and decide how I would like to spend my last day. It would give me a chance to say my goodbyes.
  7. I had a near death experience when I got hit by a car three years ago. It was so scary. I’m lucky because I didn’t break anything, and thankfully there was no life altering injuries. It gave me more hope and a reason to not let life pass me by. It really did give me a second chance, and I am so glad for that.

This concludes our first discussion of the book. I look forward to reading your answers, and letting me know what your thoughts are on this book. So far I love this book. I am so excited to read the next book!

Here is the schedule for the book club…

Part One Discussion begins November 7th
Part Two Discussion begins November 14th
Part Three Discussion begins: November 21st
Part Four, plus the book as a whole Discussion begins: November 28th

I am so excited for this, and I hope you are, too!

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Day 72

As sad as we may be when a loved one passes away, we should remind ourselves that our loss is another person’s reunion. Meaning that we have lost someone incredible, but that person is now reunited with all of the amazing people that has passed on before them.

My Grandpa was the youngest out of his siblings, so he saw all of his family pass on before him. So now he can be reunited with all of his siblings, and his friends, too.

I always regret not calling him as often as I should have. But there wasn’t a lot of new things happening in my life, so I didn’t really know what to say most of the time. I really wished I had made the effort to talk to him more. But in the past, I visited him a lot.

Today, I will remember that even though I am sad, I should be thankful that my loved one is in a better place, with all of our loved ones who have passed on before us. I will honour the ones that have passed on by embracing their lives, and legacies. I will let them live on in my heart, and it would be like they never passed away.

Talking Out Loud

Every week, I like to focus and write about simple ways that help lift us into better mood, that doesn’t require much energy or money. I call it Feel Good Fridays. I like to think that can help others.

What helped me get through my Grandpa’s stay at the hospital, was talking about my feelings with my aunts, and uncles. We shared a lot of our memories. I also talked about my feelings with my friends, too.

Whatever you are going through right now, it’s best to talk to someone you love and trust. If you aren’t able to talk to someone, you can always write about your feelings, too. I was thinking about setting up an email for my blog. So if you didn’t have anyone to talk to, I can be your person. I will keep you posted about that.

When I was younger, I didn’t really have many people to share my feelings with, so I often kept my feelings bottled up. I only had my journal to write about my feelings, and goals. So I have learned that it is important to release your feelings to someone you trust, and or love.

I felt a lot of sadness when my Grandpa had passed away. But I felt fortunate enough to have people that I can talk to about my feelings. I haven’t lost anyone this close to me before, so it was really hard to process my feelings, it still kind of is. But at the same time, I was so blessed to have all of these memories with him. I was fortunate enough to have said my goodbyes to him, not everyone gets that opportunity.

I also feel fortunate that I have a good support system, and my many friends in this blog universe. I appreciate everyone for the love and support.

Savour Every Moment

When I was at work today, a customer was telling me that her and her sister bought her mom the gift card that she gave to me to pay for her order. And then she later added that their mother had passed away last week. They were starting to sort through her belongings and stumbled upon this. She told me that this was their mom’s favourite restaurant and that she enjoyed this place.

I told her that I was sorry to hear about her mother’s passing.

I hope that they have a lot of fun and loving memories of her and that they will cherish forever.

One of my co-workers told me to come in an hour before my scheduled shift so I agreed. This order came before my scheduled time so it felt like I was meant to take her order and be more appreciative of the people in my life.

Because before I know it they can be gone in a blink of eye. I have to make the most of it count.

“The bad news is time flies but the good news is you are the pilot.”