Me Before You is one of the books that came into my life when I needed it the most. It made me chuckle and cry at the same time while teaching that love isn’t always about holding on. It is sometimes about letting go. That doesn’t mean I had to let go of the memories and lessons, but about carrying them with me in a way that continues to shape who I am.
Louisa and Will’s story is more than just a bittersweet romance. It’s a reminder of how short life is and how one person can completely change the way we see the world. If you haven’t read Jojo Moyes’ book, don’t worry. I have gathered the most heart-wrenching Me Before You quotes that capture its humor, tenderness, and unforgettable lessons.
Quotes That Reflect Louisa And Will’s Love For Each Other
Louisa and Will’s story isn’t a meet-cute. It’s a bit complicated. Sparks didn’t fly when they met each other for the first time. Louisa was Will’s caregiver after his life was changed by an accident that left him paralyzed. Lou’s quirky nature quickly grew on Will and they soon fell in love. Here are some quotes that reflect how deeply they loved one another:
- “Sometimes, Clark, you are pretty much the only thing that makes me want to get up in the morning.”
- Time slowed, and stilled. It was just the two of us, me murmuring in the empty, sunlit room. Will didn’t say much. He didn’t answer back, or add a dry comment, or scoff. He nodded occasionally, his head pressed against mine, and murmured, or let out a small sound that could have been satisfaction at another good memory. “It has been, the best six months of my entire life.” “Funnily enough, Clark, mine too.” And then, just like that, my heart broke. My face crumpled, my composure went and I held him tightly and I stopped caring that he could feel the shudder of my sobbing body because grief swamped me. It overwhelmed me and tore at my heart and my stomach and my head and it pulled me under, and I couldn’t bear it.
- “I know this isn’t a conventional love story… But I love you. I do.”
- “You make me happy, even when you’re awful. I would rather be with you—even the you that you seem to think is diminished—than with anyone else in the world.”
- “So this is it. You are scored on my heart, Clark. You were from the first day you walked in, with your ridiculous clothes and your bad jokes and your complete inability to ever hide a single thing you felt.”
Quotes On The Silence Of Unspoken Words
Some readers say that the most shattering aspect of Me Before You is the unsaid words between Lou and Will. But I found beauty in it because their love was full of glances, pauses, and quiet moments. It tells the readers that sometimes life gives you a love that words won’t be able to capture the depth of it all. Let’s take a look at some of the Me Before You quotes that depict this silence:
- “Do you know how hard it is to say nothing? When every atom of you strains to do the opposite?”
- “I realized I was afraid of living without him. How is it you have the right to destroy my life?”
- “I loved a man who had opened up a world to me but hadn’t loved me enough to stay in it.”
- “I hadn’t realized that music could unlock things in you, could transport you to somewhere even the composer hadn’t predicted. It left an imprint in the air around you, as if you carried its remnants with you when you went.”
- “I realized I was afraid of living without him. How is it you have the right to destroy my life, I wanted to demand of him, but I’m not allowed a say in yours? But I had promised.”
Quotes On The Agony Of Goodbye
You know what’s more painful than breakups? Goodbyes where you know you are never going to see the person you love ever again. In memories, yes. In dreams, yes. But never in person. You’ll never be able to touch them, hear their voice, or listen to their laughter. The below quotes capture the unbearable pain of saying goodbye to someone who has become your entire world.
- “Shhh. Just listen. You, of all people. Listen to what Im saying. This…tonight…is the most wonderful thing you could have done for me. What you have told me, what you have done in bringing me here…knowing that, somehow, from that complete arse, I was at the start of this, you managed to salvage something to love is astonishing to me. But…I need it to end here. No more chair. No more pneumonia. No more burning limbs. No more pain and tiredness and waking up every morning already wishing it was over. When we get back, I am still going to go to Switzerland. And if you do love me, Clark, as you say you do, the thing that would make me happier than anything is if you would come with me. So I’m asking you – if you feel the things you say you feel – then do it. Be with me. Give me the end I’m hoping for.”
- “You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. It always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone but I hope you feel exhilarated too.”
- “You learn to live with it, with them. Because they do stay with you, even if they’re not living, breathing people anymore. It’s not the same crushing grief you felt at first, the kind that swamps you, and makes you want to cry in the wrong places, and get irrationally angry with all the idiots who are still alive when the person you love is dead. It’s just something you learn to accommodate. Like adapting around a hole. I don’t know. It’s like you become … a doughnut instead of a bun.”
- “How could you live each day knowing that you were simply whiling away the days until your own death? How could this man whose skin I had felt that morning under my fingers – warm, and alive – choose to just extinguish himself? How could it be that, with everyone’s consent, in six months’ time that same skin would be decaying under the ground?”
- “And I don’t want to look at you every day, to see you naked, to watch you wandering around the annexe in your crazy dresses and not…not be able to do what I want with you. Oh, Clark, if you had any idea what I want to do to you right now. And I…i can’t live with that knowledge. I can’t. It’s not who I am. I can’t be the kind of man who just…accepts.”
Reading this book was an experience I’ll never forget. Louisa and Will’s story wasn’t just about love. It was all about learning, grieving, self-discovery, and finding courage in the hardest places. I am sure some of these Me Before You quotes will leave you teary-eyed, and I hope it nudges you to read the book.
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