All of us have a path to follow and the path begins on earth.

I always hate giving bad reviews to a book, mostly because I know that there are other people who enjoyed it and don't want to rain on their parade. But I will admit that this isn't a technically a bad review, it's one of those things (similar to Katie's stance) where I don't hate the book, but I didn't love it either.

I was hesitant to read this book, I have seen the movie and I loved it, I felt the imagery was so breathtaking and amazing. It really portrayed the hardships that Chris went through to save Annie, you felt like you were on that journey with him. So of course I didn't want to ruin it, and I was going on a long trip, and the last thing I wanted to read about was death.

What happens after we die is that age old question that never goes out of style, religions all over the world have some sort of belief in what is next for your soul. This book is basically Matheson's look at what the afterlife is like in his eyes, and he believes that what we think, dead or alive, will make a difference in how we live our afterlife. And the life you had before death.

And woven in between it all was a love story between two people, Chris and Annie. I have to say mad props to the author, unlike most love stories these days I didn't want to roll my eyes at the sappiness and unbelievable romance. I mean what can be more romantic than a man who would give up an eternity in Heaven to save you from the depths of Hell.

I do think that at times Matheson went a little overboard in the description of everything going on. That is what kind of makes me not like this book, I do think that creating imagery is a good thing, but I don't need eight different descriptions of one rock. Personally I think the afterlife has too many rules and regulations, I figured it would be an exciting and fantastical place. But that is how he sees it, and I didn't write a book on the afterlife, so I guess I can't complain.

I cannot help but compare this to the movie Wristcutters: A Love Story. That too is set in the afterlife, one that is reserved for people who have committed suicide. Granted it is a dark comedy of sorts, but I found the afterlife to be a place of ones choosing, and a far better narrative on what could or could not happen after we die.

So again, I didn't necessarily hate the book, it had its good moments, but I don't think i'll be adding to my favorites list any time soon.