It is so rare that I read a book that makes me think about more than just the book. A piece of writing that makes me look at myself and actually question my beliefs - in fact, it is so rare that I'm having a hard time thinking of another example other than Gabriel Garcia Marquez's challenging of my beliefs about love in "Love in the Time of Cholera" - and I'm still not sure my questioning there was valid (or will better my life in any way at the very least). Ms. Gabrielle Zevin has managed to do something I never thought was possible; challenge my long standing beliefs about life after death in a novel for teenagers.
The story of a fifteen year old girl who dies after a hit and run accident, 'Elsewhere' is the most innovative take on life after death I have ever encountered and, although it starts off a bit slow, does an absolutely terrific job challenging preconceived notions of what really matters in life.
"A life isn't measured in hours and minutes. It's the quality, not the length." - Liz Hall
It is so incredibly simple to take life for granted in so many ways. From sitting watching TV inside on a sunny day instead of taking a bike ride, to eating at McDonald's instead of having a BBQ with friends, to not making someone a thank you card when you are thinking about how thankful you are for them, to just being a student in my classroom staring idly out the window instead of reading a breathtaking book such as 'Elsewhere' when you are going to be there anyway. We get but one life, at least here on Earth, and I certainly have no idea what happens after that but I do know that with this one, for whatever time I am still afforded, I want to try to do the best for everyone I encounter. When my life ends I don't want it measured in hours and minutes, I want it to have been the best life I could have lived with the time I was given.