In all my years of reading, I've never found a book that so well captured and articulated my feelings of isolation and despair as this one.

It took me a few chapters to get used to the vignette format, but once I did, I found that it allowed me to take a big breath and even have a good chuckle in between more serious contemplations.

Many of the books I've been reading are enjoyable, but they don't bring you so completely into their story as this one does because of the author's ability to create a completely different tone among the stories, believably distinctive voices for each of the characters, and set the mood with his elegant descriptions.

If he can keep up this kind of literary tale telling, I will be pleased to read more from this guy.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

“I gave them a little empty space to make sure they come home.” Stunning sentiment

When I first came across this book it sounded like uplifting exploration of how people search for and find happiness in life, and in some ways that’s exactly what this book is about. However, I was completely unprepared for this book to focus on suicide. Perhaps I should have read between the lines of the synopsis a little better, but even so, I felt blind-sided when suicide was first introduced in this book. And then it became very apparent that suicide was the focus of the book and that it would remain the focus until the last page.

Suicide is an important topic, one that is still not talked about enough, and I do think it is important to publish stories that deal with suicide. But at the end of the day Before You Go isn’t about the things that make life worth living. It’s about the things that keep you going until ____________ event happens, at which point it’s okay to commit suicide.

And I think that’s a dangerous stance for a book to have, especially when there are no warnings for readers about what this book talks about. The way Butler talks about suicide, while insightful, is also very harmful. This book was very difficult for me to get through and it brought up a lot of things I was not expecting it to. It romanticizes suicide and also paints it as inevitable for certain people.

This book should come with trigger warnings, both on the cover and within the book itself. I do not recommend this book for readers who are triggered by suicide, or death.

My Highly Caffeinated Thought: A candid look at life and death mixed with a unique view on what came before we are who we are.

What do you say about a book like BEFORE YOU GO? It is one of those rare novels that push the boundaries of how you perceive our existence. It explores so many facets of human emotions while looking at the choices we make.

What I found most compelling about this story is the realness and the grit within the prose. Elliot’s life and his view on it were never once sugar-coated. The way he lived within the book felt authentic to what we all experience on some level. Then you add into the narrative a hint of the great beyond with the designers and how they created us all with a hole near our hearts so that we would want to leave earth when it was our time. Somehow, it all works well.

Through eloquent writing, a bit of imagination, and a true grounding in the real world, BEFORE YOU GO will make your heartbreak while at the same time offer hope. It truly celebrates all the aspects of what being human means.

This starts off slow, but gets good as you read. The author writes brilliantly about loneliness and wanting to connect to others.

Tommy Butler's first novel is ambitious and provocative. It follows the life of Elliot Chance from childhood when he first notices a void or hole in his heart until life's end. While it's Elliot's story we soon realize that he's reflecting on the scope of humanity and the ways in which many people go through life without ever considering their true purpose or the ways of human kindness.

While the story starts out slow and can be difficult to follow, this is an important book that captures both the sorrow and joy of the human condition. I look forward to reading more by Butler.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I appreciate having had this opportunity.

I think the overarching idea of this book is a phenomenal one, but overall, I found this story hard to follow. This book started off pretty slow and I thought the main character was hard to connect with. The writing was great, and I would love to see this author put out more books.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this Advanced Reader's Copy!

This is a really beautiful book that explores the human condition and human nature in its many forms. It explores themes of loneliness, yearning to connect, the cost of happiness. The story is very imaginative and moving but not cheesy. I read one review that called it profound and yet playful and those two words, I found, are quite accurate descriptions. Excited to see more from this author. Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC.