After The Ending (The Ending Series, #1): A Post-Apocalyptic Romance

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After the main story is over, you should have a hefty amount of money. What are you going to spend it all on? Well, go ahead and treat yourself. There are dozens of vehicles to buy in the game. The greatest irony is that you’re buying cars in a game titled Grand Theft Auto. Unlike what happened to the author, the fictional couple in this novel don’t agree on how to manage and treat their son’s illness so the courts must intervene and make a decision to continue treatment or let him go. The author did a magnificent job detailing the emotional and physical toll on everyone when a child is critically ill. It made me think about my own beliefs and wonder what I would do when there is not one “right” choice. I liked how the author brought in the power of the press and social media along with the public’s rush to judgment without knowing all the facts.

A family torn apart during an impossible time. Palliative care or alternative treatment? That is the question. The author has been through this trial, she lost one of her twin babies more than a decade ago. Perhaps this is why the hospital scenes feel so real, raw and heartbreaking. From a statement by the author: “A key location for AFTER THE END is an Intensive Care Unit. Twelve years ago I spent four months in ICU with my newborn twins. Writing the scenes set in hospital was easy because everything feels still so vivid and clear, all these years later. The beeps and whirrs of the machines, the fluorescent lighting, the smell of the anti-bac gel...a sensory overload I translated into words.”After The Ending is the first book in the evocative, superpowered post-apocalyptic adventure, The Ending Series. If you like unbreakable friendships, gritty dystopian settings, and a touch of romance, then you'll love Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh's heart-wrenching tale. My time of reading any kind of self-help books has gained interest and flourished in my twenties, peaked for a few years then diluted with life and by now has long gone. If to gain information about a subject matter, feel better equipped to deal with challenges, gain perspective, reflect and meditate positively over life's big questions they have been a great source of encouragement and support.

When their son, Dylan, is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Max and Pip are confronted with making a life changing decision something that no parent should ever have to do. But what happens when Max and Pip are unable to reach an agreement on a decision. It appears that what used to be a loving and happy family is now being ripped apart. After the End” was a truly emotional read which I thoroughly enjoyed. I listened to this novel while Kaceey read it and was so grateful to share this buddy read with her! Thank you again Kaceey!Max and Pip have a toddler called Dylan. Sadly he has been diagnosed with a brain tumour, of which surgeons could not remove all off. Then they are given the devastating news that the Timor is growing again. There is nothing more the surgeons can do but give him palliative care and make sure that he is pain free. Max, not wanting to give up on his son, researches the disease hoping to find a cure for his son. He finds that it can be treated in America. But first he has to take the hospital to court so that they will keep Dylan alive until they get to America. A powerful exploration of grief, love and the way in which all decisions – both large and small – can have life-changing results. (Jill Santopolo, New York Times bestselling author of The Light We Lost and More Than Words)

The book relates alternative scenarios to show the possible outcomes of either decision, Pips preference of switching off the machines keeping Dylan alive or Max's choice of seeking advanced medication in America, potentially prolonging everyone's suffering by keeping him alive to die peacefully.However, I could have done without the Dr’s POV. I didn’t think it added anything relevant to the story as it was more about her personal life, not her medical judgement, and it felt like filler. After The End reads in alternating views of Pip, Max and the treating doctors. Nothing short of devastating, the journey of Dillan's life and or care is told in each of their perspectives from beginning to end. The joys, struggles, hopes, their memories of happy times and sad moments are captivatingly told. At times too much to take. The first half of the book is mostly “Before” – the life of a loving couple Max and Pip and their adorable toddler son Dylan. Tragically, Dylan’s health takes a dreadful turn and the prognosis is terrible for his future and damaged brain. The doctors recommend taking Dylan off life support as there doesn’t seem to be a way for him to recover and have a pain-free life. The big twist is that both parents have to agree to this course of action. One parent wants to seek an alternative treatment in the US (that would just extend his life, not cure him) while the other parent agrees with the doctor. It is up to the courts to decide Dylan’s fate.