Me Before You

Content Warning: Me Before You references sexual assault, suicidal ideation, and assisted suicide. This guide also discusses the text’s controversial portrayal of people with disabilities.

Me Before You opens in 2007. Businessman Will Traynor leaves for work on a rainy morning. As he attempts to hail a taxi, he is struck by a motorcycle.

It is 2009, and 26-year-old Louisa Clark returns to her family home. She greets her family and informs them that the café she works at is closing and that she no longer has a job. In financial distress, Louisa’s family relies on her income to survive. The next day, Louisa seeks comfort from her long-term boyfriend, Patrick, who encourages her to take this opportunity to pursue a new career. Over the next few weeks, she seeks job opportunities to no avail. Desperate for work, she reluctantly accepts a care assistant position for a quadriplegic man—Will Traynor.

Lousia arrives at the Traynors’ house for an interview. Will’s mother, Camilla, conducts the interview and informs Louisa that the position is a temporary position for six months. Despite Louisa’s lack of professional experience, Camilla hires her and warns her that “Will is not the easiest person to be around at the moment” (24).