Goodbye Days By Jeff Zentner

Author : Jeff Zentner
Title : Goodbye Days
Published : 2017
Publisher : Andersen Press
Pages : 416
Genre : Young Adult

     Can a text message destroy your life? Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can't stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths. Then Blake's grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a `goodbye day' together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli's bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver's own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?

     This has been my second visit with this author, last year I had the great experience of reading The Serpent king. A book that I found so very captivating that I could not put it down until I was done. Now It has taken me quite some time to make my way back to him again. Mostly due to an out of control to be read pile. None the less the time finally came to delve into Goodbye Days. This Is a book about grief and loss and how each of us deals with the death of those we love. It is a book best tackled when you are in the right frame of mood. Which is in no way a bad thing, some books are meant to move us and shift how we see the world. But for me at least I need to be ready to read such a book, otherwise, I fear its message may be lost and that is a great waste of such a book.

     Whilst I am now a good few years past the age of our hero I think the message that he is here to teach us is one that applies to and age. Carver is someone who I could easily connect with. We all know that feeling of loss. That feeling that comes up inside us of why them it's just not fair. But in our hero's case, there is so much more to his story. This is a man who truly blames himself for the death of his friends. We asked whether we think through every action we carry out each day. Can simply sending a message cause such events. We all send thousands of messages to our friends and family but do we ever think about what is going on at the other end. I can see how Carver blames himself, I'm sure if I was in his situation I would do the same. 

     Whilst the events take place after the fateful event that does not mean that his dead friends are relegated to being paper people sent to us to flesh out Carver's grief. For me, they felt just as real as our hero. There hopes and dreams, how each one saw their lives stretching out before the. It is through the stories that those who remain tell that their lives have meaning. That each one of them becomes something more than the sum of there parts. This is who we can all hope to live ion beyond our time. The events we share with those we love are who we truly are. Be they dumb and laughable or the most serious of events they tell the world who we are more than anything else. It is what brings sorrow to our hearts of laughter to or lips. Zentner captures these people and moments so beautifully that it would be difficult for any of us to not bring them into our hearts. 

     This book goes on so much further than just telling us the story of their lives. He brings up the question of how we deal with this whirlwind of emotions the batter at our doors on the days and months that follow. How do we properly come to terms with such events when the one person we need to talk to about all this is no longer there. the idea of goodbye days is one that has never really occurred to me but one that now seems so obvious.  There is something so truly magical contained within the pages that deal with how each of the families uses their goodbye day. It shows us the different ways in which all people let out this pain that seems to never end. 

     For me, this was a book the went straight to my heart it showed me days I have lived myself and emotions I have seen in those I care about. It is this perfect mix of heartbreaking grief and the warming sunlight that is the hope to come. How we may not be able to bring the dead back but that we should be grateful for the time we had with them. It is this mix that makes these people special to us. In writing this book the author captured so many emotions that are difficult to wrangle down. He has created a book that when you have turned the final page you feel better for having spent time with Carver and his friends. This is life at it's most brutal and beautiful all at the same time.