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Sixty Days Left
At thirty, Willow Harrington received a six-months-to-live terminal diagnosis. In this, the diary of her last sixty days, she details her decision to trade the wide-open spaces of rural Wyoming for Portland, where she’ll end her life at a time of her choosing through Death with Dignity, physician-assisted death.
With a heartfelt sarcastic tone, Willow journals her past, her mortality, the effects of her disease on those around her and ultimately how she wants to write the end of her story. It challenges readers to question: What would you do with sixty days left?
With a heartfelt sarcastic tone, Willow journals her past, her mortality, the effects of her disease on those around her and ultimately how she wants to write the end of her story. It challenges readers to question: What would you do with sixty days left?
140 pages, Paperback
Published May 15, 2018
3 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
Andrea Lechner-Becker
3 books12 followersAndrea Lechner-Becker is a lot like her name, a little awkward and kinda funny. On a perfect day, she sits at a bar ingesting craft beers and talking to strangers. She believes everyone has a story to tell and deeply desires to tell as many of them as possible. She left a successful career as a marketing executive to commit full-time to storytelling. We'll see how that goes!
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 30, 2018
I received this arc from the publisher through NetGalley. The book is told in backwards order and although I was able to keep up with most of it, I did find it confusing at times. There’s a raunchy sex scene that I did not care for so I skimmed through 2 sections of that. Overall, it was ok.
May 10, 2018
Review Posted on my blog: https://sinfullywickedbookreviews.com/
This is one of the questions Willow Harrington asks herself when faced with a diagnosis of terminal cancer. She is only thirty years old and her short life is coming to an end. Sixty Days Left takes us on her journey through the present and the past written in journal entries chronicling the last sixty days of her life. We start at the end of her journey, the last day of her life. The day she designated fifty-nine days ago that would be her last day of seeing all the beauty left in the world. Through the Death With Dignity Act, Willow will die on her own terms, surrounded by loved ones as she takes her final breath.
The Death With Dignity Act is such a controversial issue and Andrea Lechner-Becker really captured the emotions and the heart of the issue that terminally ill patients face. The Death With Dignity Act gives people a voice. It lets one determine their right to live and die. Willow wanted to to make that choice on her own. She didn’t want to waste away from cancer. She did not want cancer to win. I don’t know if I liked Willow as a person, but I could rationalize and sympathize with what she was going through and the decisions she has made. She does redeem herself though through interactions with her family and friends. Willow becomes most likeable through her journal entries and how she expressed seeing things for the first time and experiencing things that most people take for granted. She saw the beauty in life and sometimes we all need to take a step back and appreciate the little things that are around us. It is an important lesson and I am so glad that I got to experience life through Willow’s eyes.
Andrea Lechner-Becker has such a way of drawing you into a story that is beautifully written and descriptive. The story flows so smoothly and so effortlessly. Sixty Days Left is an intense and emotional read. You will laugh, you will cry, and your heart will break for Willow and her family. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Please pick yourself up a copy and have a box of tissues by your side as you immerse yourself in Willow’s heartbreaking story.
Shouldn’t one be free to choose how to die as they possess the right to live?
This is one of the questions Willow Harrington asks herself when faced with a diagnosis of terminal cancer. She is only thirty years old and her short life is coming to an end. Sixty Days Left takes us on her journey through the present and the past written in journal entries chronicling the last sixty days of her life. We start at the end of her journey, the last day of her life. The day she designated fifty-nine days ago that would be her last day of seeing all the beauty left in the world. Through the Death With Dignity Act, Willow will die on her own terms, surrounded by loved ones as she takes her final breath.
The Death With Dignity Act is such a controversial issue and Andrea Lechner-Becker really captured the emotions and the heart of the issue that terminally ill patients face. The Death With Dignity Act gives people a voice. It lets one determine their right to live and die. Willow wanted to to make that choice on her own. She didn’t want to waste away from cancer. She did not want cancer to win. I don’t know if I liked Willow as a person, but I could rationalize and sympathize with what she was going through and the decisions she has made. She does redeem herself though through interactions with her family and friends. Willow becomes most likeable through her journal entries and how she expressed seeing things for the first time and experiencing things that most people take for granted. She saw the beauty in life and sometimes we all need to take a step back and appreciate the little things that are around us. It is an important lesson and I am so glad that I got to experience life through Willow’s eyes.
Take care of each other. Be kind. Continue to live your lives as if you are not owed tomorrow. Take a moment to stop, to breathe, to appreciate the beauty you’ve been gifted, and, in the roses, to remember me. Don’t be sad for me. Instead learn from my experience. Don’t wait until you know when your life will end to begin living it. Do it now.
Love, Willow
Andrea Lechner-Becker has such a way of drawing you into a story that is beautifully written and descriptive. The story flows so smoothly and so effortlessly. Sixty Days Left is an intense and emotional read. You will laugh, you will cry, and your heart will break for Willow and her family. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Please pick yourself up a copy and have a box of tissues by your side as you immerse yourself in Willow’s heartbreaking story.
November 30, 2018
Well listen, given this is my book, I'm obviously partial. Now that I've officially finished my final edit, I feel good giving it five stars. It's a little bit of everything I love: serious, heartfelt and sarcastic.
June 5, 2018
The book took me a long time to get through, and this wasn’t because of any heavy prose or difficult scenes. On the contrary: the book is written in the form of a journal, where the main character: Willow has a very modern, down-to-earth and direct way of viewing the world and expressing herself, making it very easy to read.
The reason for my slowness was laregly because of the various profound truths and ideas that are exposed throughout the book. While the main message is that of seizing the day, the book is also liberally sprinkled with other issues. Reconciling oneself with family members and friends who may have let you down; your romantic choices; the question of a bucket list... I mean, how soon is too soon to start making one and ticking off the items? This book seems to suggest that even yesterday would have been high time to start. So then as a reader you’re led to start thinking about what sort of things you might want to put on your own bucket list. Even the problems in Willow’s fast-dwindling life were instructional and led me to analyse my own life for any blockages or blind-spots that I might be ignoring or putting off for an unspecified and probably non-existent “tomorrow”.
Due to the reverse chronology, the narrative was sort of a challenge to follow. I had to keep reminding myself that the timeline goes backwards and that the new chapter I’m reading happened before the events that I’d just read. There were also flashback scenes that were hard to figure out at first. Some of the chapters end with brief references to future events (that we’ve already read about), which I admired as an effective way of reminding the reader about the reverse chronology. I definitely wouldn’t say that this device of going backwards in time makes the book unreadable. Anyone who’s got through Catch-22 will agree that this is comparatively a breeze, and refreshing because of the challenge. One could even argue that forcing your brain to work harder in figuring out the timeline also causes it to engage more with the other issues that the book brings up.
When it comes to the whole euthanasia/Death with Dignity issue and the potential religious or moral questions surrounding it, I was already completely for giving people the opportunity to die painlessly. As a result, it’s difficult to say whether the book’s treatment of the subject would have changed my mind, were I against it, or persuaded me, had I been on the fence about the issue.
The reason for my slowness was laregly because of the various profound truths and ideas that are exposed throughout the book. While the main message is that of seizing the day, the book is also liberally sprinkled with other issues. Reconciling oneself with family members and friends who may have let you down; your romantic choices; the question of a bucket list... I mean, how soon is too soon to start making one and ticking off the items? This book seems to suggest that even yesterday would have been high time to start. So then as a reader you’re led to start thinking about what sort of things you might want to put on your own bucket list. Even the problems in Willow’s fast-dwindling life were instructional and led me to analyse my own life for any blockages or blind-spots that I might be ignoring or putting off for an unspecified and probably non-existent “tomorrow”.
Due to the reverse chronology, the narrative was sort of a challenge to follow. I had to keep reminding myself that the timeline goes backwards and that the new chapter I’m reading happened before the events that I’d just read. There were also flashback scenes that were hard to figure out at first. Some of the chapters end with brief references to future events (that we’ve already read about), which I admired as an effective way of reminding the reader about the reverse chronology. I definitely wouldn’t say that this device of going backwards in time makes the book unreadable. Anyone who’s got through Catch-22 will agree that this is comparatively a breeze, and refreshing because of the challenge. One could even argue that forcing your brain to work harder in figuring out the timeline also causes it to engage more with the other issues that the book brings up.
When it comes to the whole euthanasia/Death with Dignity issue and the potential religious or moral questions surrounding it, I was already completely for giving people the opportunity to die painlessly. As a result, it’s difficult to say whether the book’s treatment of the subject would have changed my mind, were I against it, or persuaded me, had I been on the fence about the issue.
May 7, 2018
Willow Harrington is a young woman facing incurable cancer, and Sixty Days Left tells us her story, and her decision to die with dignity. She relocates to Portland, Oregon, where she can legally obtain a lethal combination of drugs, and die at a time and place of her choosing.
The novel is written in reverse chronological order, in the form of a diary of Willow’s last sixty days. She reconnects with estranged family, and copes with a difficult marriage and alcoholic husband, while also finding passion with a lost love.
I admire the fact that there is nothing sappy or sentimental about Willow, and that she can be downright unlikeable at times. However, there was much less insight offered about the other characters, and I had difficulty connecting with them. Since the book is written in diary format, what we are given is Willow’s interpretation of their actions.
Andrea-Lechner Becker writes bravely, with wit and even sarcasm, about death and dying. She doesn’t romanticize the end of life, or the afterlife, but shows us what it means to face death on one’s own terms.
The novel is written in reverse chronological order, in the form of a diary of Willow’s last sixty days. She reconnects with estranged family, and copes with a difficult marriage and alcoholic husband, while also finding passion with a lost love.
I admire the fact that there is nothing sappy or sentimental about Willow, and that she can be downright unlikeable at times. However, there was much less insight offered about the other characters, and I had difficulty connecting with them. Since the book is written in diary format, what we are given is Willow’s interpretation of their actions.
Andrea-Lechner Becker writes bravely, with wit and even sarcasm, about death and dying. She doesn’t romanticize the end of life, or the afterlife, but shows us what it means to face death on one’s own terms.
April 12, 2018
This self-published novel captivated me from the beginning. Minus one little gripe it's a good little read. The reverse chronological structure and timeline are both well thought-out and original. And Lechner-Becker has created credible, well-rounded and down-to-earth characters.
There are some beautiful insights from the main character Willow’s last hours alive:
“I see life in everything. In something like beyond-sight, I see the pulsing, rhythmic beat of the universe. I can almost make out the atoms floating, separating, and joining together to fill space in my mind’s interpretation of this moment.”
For me, one of the book’s main strengths is its important message about the right to assisted dying, known in the US as ‘Death with Dignity’, something I didn’t think was possible outside of Switzerland.
My ONE problem with the book is the raunchy sex scene which I feel lets the rest of the book down and sticks out like a sore thumb. I get why this is a crucial step in the main characters' relationship but the in-depth details were unexpected: “he went back to the honeypot to get more lubricant” (which did make me chuckle!). For me, less is more when it comes to writing sex scenes.
I always find the classic 'will they/won't they' lead-up to a climax (no pun intended) effectively builds sexual tension and chemistry. But because of the end-to-start narrative in this novel, the foreplay and intrigue just wasn’t there. However, this narrative structure does work well when it comes to provoking interest in the development of the other characters, in particular Willow’s relationship with her husband.
Overall the book left me feeling comforted and satisfied. It's message: to appreciate every living moment.
“Put down your phones, you’re missing the world’s bounty!”
Andrea is definitely an author to keep an eye on, her honest and open writing style is compelling and enjoyable to read. With a few adjustments I think this could be a strong seller.
My Rating: ✪✪✪✩✩
https://thebookfinca.wordpress.com/20...
There are some beautiful insights from the main character Willow’s last hours alive:
“I see life in everything. In something like beyond-sight, I see the pulsing, rhythmic beat of the universe. I can almost make out the atoms floating, separating, and joining together to fill space in my mind’s interpretation of this moment.”
For me, one of the book’s main strengths is its important message about the right to assisted dying, known in the US as ‘Death with Dignity’, something I didn’t think was possible outside of Switzerland.
My ONE problem with the book is the raunchy sex scene which I feel lets the rest of the book down and sticks out like a sore thumb. I get why this is a crucial step in the main characters' relationship but the in-depth details were unexpected: “he went back to the honeypot to get more lubricant” (which did make me chuckle!). For me, less is more when it comes to writing sex scenes.
I always find the classic 'will they/won't they' lead-up to a climax (no pun intended) effectively builds sexual tension and chemistry. But because of the end-to-start narrative in this novel, the foreplay and intrigue just wasn’t there. However, this narrative structure does work well when it comes to provoking interest in the development of the other characters, in particular Willow’s relationship with her husband.
Overall the book left me feeling comforted and satisfied. It's message: to appreciate every living moment.
“Put down your phones, you’re missing the world’s bounty!”
Andrea is definitely an author to keep an eye on, her honest and open writing style is compelling and enjoyable to read. With a few adjustments I think this could be a strong seller.
My Rating: ✪✪✪✩✩
https://thebookfinca.wordpress.com/20...
February 15, 2019
This book took much longer to read than expected. not that it was a bad book at all, it just made me put it aside and think..............what would I do? Would I want to know my death date? Would I choose it?
At thirty, Willow Harrington received a six-months-to-live terminal diagnosis. She writes a diary during those 60 days of how she spends her time her thoughts, emotions and all of it. Well an emotional book for sure but I am glad that I read i
At thirty, Willow Harrington received a six-months-to-live terminal diagnosis. She writes a diary during those 60 days of how she spends her time her thoughts, emotions and all of it. Well an emotional book for sure but I am glad that I read i
July 7, 2018
This book was hit and miss for me. The author brought up many interesting points to think about, most importantly how crucial the ability to choose your own ending is. At the beginning I liked the idea of counting backwards but think it hurt the storytelling in that I didn’t have established care for characters that i would have if I had known the history.
November 9, 2018
I was very engaged with Andrea’s writing voice as a reviewer so I highly anticipated the release of this work of literature. The premise is that of the terminally ill heroine, Willow, whom has chosen the path of assisted suicide to take control of when she will leave this world following receipt of her diagnosis. She decides to keep a journal for every day of her last sixty days of life. The story opens on day sixty and works its way backward.
Sixty Days Left is featured on one of our club’s webisodes of Conversations Over Coffee and it received mix reviews from the group. Not everyone was sure of how to take Willow in as a character but for me personally I felt that receiving a diagnosis such as cancer puts things into perspective for us but it doesn’t mean that we aren’t still human, won’t make mistakes or even still make selfish decisions. Willow is flawed and at times not even likeable but as a reader I felt like that was important to keep her genuine. She’s like one your friends that is sarcastically hilarious but routinely makes sh*tty decisions and all you can do is shake your head at her with a laugh and keep loving her. If she had been painted as a Cinderella, absolutely perfect, yes the whole ordeal would have been even uber sad to watch but at the same time I don’t think she would have been relatable. I think that is true of most of the supporting characters as well.
Her husband, though you sympathize with him, has serious problems that he is not appropriately addressing and has made Willow his crutch and ultimately made her feel trapped within the relationship. Enter her old flame and they’re checkered past and an instant conflict as you are taken through their connection, disconnection, and reconnection which occurs during her marriage. These are the moments that make you question if she’s a good person or not. Would you have done the same? What decisions would you make if this were you. You want to be high and mighty and say no, not me, but at the same time if time is limited, you’re not happy, and you just want to feel again before you go would that make things different?
So much is left unsaid in this novel but it is with purpose. It makes you think about the relationships that you have with people and what their worth really is to you. Do you fix what is broken or do you leave things as they are? That is really my takeaway from this novel. It is about the relationships that we foster. If there is one thing about this book that I did not like, however, it would have to be the conclusion. At the end I was expecting to see Willow at that point where she was receiving the diagnosis from her doctor. I know the point was that you’re reading her journal, you’re not getting the full picture, but the impact for me would have been greater if I could have read that moment and shared in that experience. It would have brought this story full circle for me and it was the one BIG missing piece for me as a reader. I feel like this is an important novel to read but you can’t go into it thinking it’s going to be a beach read or a fairytale spin on terrible circumstances. This is a fictional snapshot of someone’s real life experience and choices which will leave you asking – could you do it?
Sixty Days Left is featured on one of our club’s webisodes of Conversations Over Coffee and it received mix reviews from the group. Not everyone was sure of how to take Willow in as a character but for me personally I felt that receiving a diagnosis such as cancer puts things into perspective for us but it doesn’t mean that we aren’t still human, won’t make mistakes or even still make selfish decisions. Willow is flawed and at times not even likeable but as a reader I felt like that was important to keep her genuine. She’s like one your friends that is sarcastically hilarious but routinely makes sh*tty decisions and all you can do is shake your head at her with a laugh and keep loving her. If she had been painted as a Cinderella, absolutely perfect, yes the whole ordeal would have been even uber sad to watch but at the same time I don’t think she would have been relatable. I think that is true of most of the supporting characters as well.
Her husband, though you sympathize with him, has serious problems that he is not appropriately addressing and has made Willow his crutch and ultimately made her feel trapped within the relationship. Enter her old flame and they’re checkered past and an instant conflict as you are taken through their connection, disconnection, and reconnection which occurs during her marriage. These are the moments that make you question if she’s a good person or not. Would you have done the same? What decisions would you make if this were you. You want to be high and mighty and say no, not me, but at the same time if time is limited, you’re not happy, and you just want to feel again before you go would that make things different?
So much is left unsaid in this novel but it is with purpose. It makes you think about the relationships that you have with people and what their worth really is to you. Do you fix what is broken or do you leave things as they are? That is really my takeaway from this novel. It is about the relationships that we foster. If there is one thing about this book that I did not like, however, it would have to be the conclusion. At the end I was expecting to see Willow at that point where she was receiving the diagnosis from her doctor. I know the point was that you’re reading her journal, you’re not getting the full picture, but the impact for me would have been greater if I could have read that moment and shared in that experience. It would have brought this story full circle for me and it was the one BIG missing piece for me as a reader. I feel like this is an important novel to read but you can’t go into it thinking it’s going to be a beach read or a fairytale spin on terrible circumstances. This is a fictional snapshot of someone’s real life experience and choices which will leave you asking – could you do it?
May 26, 2018
What would I do?
What a concept, the direction your writing took was a first for me. I definitely will read it again. Sometimes I laughed out loud and teared up in the same chapter!
This is definitely a book to be read with an open heart and mind.
Good job, Andrea!
What a concept, the direction your writing took was a first for me. I definitely will read it again. Sometimes I laughed out loud and teared up in the same chapter!
This is definitely a book to be read with an open heart and mind.
Good job, Andrea!
October 29, 2019
This title evokes a sense of needing to reorder priorities in your life. Terminal cancer tends to do that to people and it is no exception in this story.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews