The Measure

 By: Nikki Erlick

Location: FIC ERL

Genre: Fiction, Sci Fi, Dystopia

Eight ordinary people. One extraordinary choice.

It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out.

But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.

From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?

As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice: Do they wish to know how long they’ll live? And, if so, what will they do with that knowledge?

The Measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another: best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.

review from Goodreads- Marilyce

Wow! What a story!

Powerful, moving, reality, and one of the best books I have read this year.

In The Measure by the talented new author, Nikki Erlick, one encounters eight people on life's journey. Like the rest of the world they have received a box that contains a string that can't be destroyed, for it is the length that your life will last and these paricuar people have to live with a destiny they already know.

Of course, we know that not a one of us escapes death, quite a sobering thought indeed, but the when stays hidden, mostly in fear of what's to come. How these eight handle the knowledge of the end, is the gist of the story told with compassion and empathy. There is a plethora of emotions, feeling, and reality, that one can't help being drawn into the story as we too, may not have a box with a string but in reality, we do.

One can't help but reflect on whether they would open the box containing either a long or short future. It's like that question of would you want to know the day of your death? Would your life change because of that awareness and would, as the author postulates, that we might live a better life, one lacking hatred, being linked into groups that are detested in the news and other social media outlets. Look around us now are we not living what this book puts forth? Are we appreciative of just being alive, of having family and friend, of a beautiful day opening before us, or are we being taught to live in fear, afraid of color, race, creed, of belief in a governing system that right now seems inept and unable to see good?

This author so mimics our lives and our world that the book touches us in a way that others do not. It enjoins us to practice human emotions like empathy, joy, and happiness and eliminate those who try to place us in states of anxiety and fear.

I can't begin to explain the impact this story had on this reader and am surprised it hasn't shot up into best seller status. The Measure is our lives, it is where we are, it is how we can change our view of our world while embracing the good within us. Definitely recommend this stellar book from a first time author.

Jan and I were blown away with this powerful insightful look into how we live our lives. This is truly us, creatures who need to enjoy their time on earth and be grateful for that time every day.