The Last Time We Say Goodbye By Cynthia Hand

There is nothing in this world like the feeling of losing a loved one. The shattering grief, deep sadness, and heartbreak can really take a toll on a person’s mental, physical, and emotional state. In Cynthia Hand’s novel, The Last Time We Say Goodbye, the main character, Lex, suffers from these effects constantly. After her brother took his life by force, her life felt incomplete. Lex thought of her brother daily, even while doing insignificant things. Her feelings would overtake her thoughts, making it extremely difficult to cope with such a devastating loss. As well as Lex, the death of her brother was traumatizing to many other people including family, friends, and even his girlfriend Ashley. It is clear that death can affect loved ones by the means of mental deterioration, hallucination, and spiraling effects on other people.
In The Last Time We Say Goodbye, Tyler’s death really changed a lot of people’s lives. His mother was crying herself to sleep nearly every night and was like a complete new person. His sister Lex was the same way and isolated herself from a lot of friends trying to keep her company. All she did was push them away and when people showed their gratitude towards her and her family, she resented it. Friends and family were trying their best to provide their family with food and company but that was truly the last thing they wanted, they just wanted Tyler back. Tyler’s friends were having a very hard time trying to cope with his death as well. Their friend group just wasn’t the same without him. It was even to the point that they would leave a space in lou of where he used to stand in the hallway socializing with them. Everything was so different without Tyler. The most valuable player of the basketball team,