The Choice

“But things change. People change. Change was one of the inevitable laws of nature, exacting its toll on people’s lives. Mistakes are made, regrets form, and all that was left were repercussions that made something as simple as rising from the bed seem almost laborious.”

This quote reflects on the inevitability of change in life and its profound impact on individuals. The statement suggests that change is a fundamental and natural aspect of existence, affecting people in various ways. The mention of mistakes and regrets implies that these changes may arise from decisions or actions that individuals come to lament, highlighting the theme of Choices and Their Consequences.

“That’s the thing about being the product of happily married parents. You grow up thinking the fairy tale is real, and more than that, you think you’re entitled to live it.”

The quote reflects how Gabby feels about her relationship with Kevin, which begins to shift after she meets Travis. She mistakenly believed that because her parents’ marriage was happy, hers would be too, no matter whom she married. She soon discovers that Kevin is not the person she ought to be with and begins looking seriously at a relationship with Travis.

“She knew that time had a funny way of dimming the edges of reality until something only blurry remained.”

The idea conveyed here is that time acts as a natural filter, softening the edges of reality. What was once sharply defined becomes a bit hazy or indistinct, making it challenging to retain the same level of clarity about past events. This phenomenon is a common aspect of human memory, and the quote captures the nuanced relationship between time and the way we remember and interpret our experiences.

“For the most part, people go through the same experiences and think the same things, but somehow no one ever escapes the belief that his experience is unique in every conceivable way.”

This quote highlights the paradox that while people undergo similar events and share common thoughts, there’s a tendency for individuals to feel that their personal journey is distinct and exceptional. This phenomenon reflects the subjective nature of perception and the inherent sense of individuality that colors our understanding of the world. In essence, it points to the universal yet deeply personal nature of the human experience.

“Beauty and earthy common sense were a rare combination, yet he doubted she was even aware she possessed it.”

This quote highlights the attributes that Travis finds uncommon and redeeming in Gabby, which makes him fall deeply and madly in love with her. It shows that he appreciates Gabby for more than her looks and that he is interested in having a relationship with someone whose advice he can take and trust.

“Spoken like a man with plenty of experience. But keep in mind that true love lasts forever. ‘Poets would say that true love always ends in tragedy.’”

This quote illuminates Gabby’s hesitation when it comes to choosing Travis because of his dating history, and it also foreshadows the tragedy of their accident, which could have ended their true love.

“Conversation as the lyrics, laughter was the music, making time spent together a melody that could be replayed over and over without getting stale.”

Travis thinks of his father and his advice when he is thinking about why he is drawn to Gabby and the inexplicable chemistry they have. This foreshadows the happy life they will have together and the sadness Travis will feel when he believes he will lose Gabby forever.

“Life, it seemed, was full of regret, and he yearned to turn back the clock so he could live parts of his life over again.”

Travis sits with his grief and his decision-making regarding his marriage and Gabby’s life. He wishes he could go back in time and make different decisions, highlighting the theme of Choices and Their Consequences.

“He remembers that in the days that followed their first weekend together, he would find himself studying Gabby, knowing on some deep level that even if he spent the rest of his life looking, he’d never find a better mother or more perfect complement to him.”

Travis looks back at the beginning of his relationship with Gabby and knows that they were meant for one another and that he would fight for this love. His fighting pays off when he refuses to take her off life support, allowing her the chance to wake up from her coma.

“Marriage, each of them realized intuitively, was about compromise and forgiveness. It was about balance, where one person complemented the other.”

This shows the transformation Gabby and Travis undergo about their understanding of marriage from the beginning of the novel. At that time, Gabby believed guilt was the foundation of marriage. Her relationship with Travis taught both of them that this is not the case.

“He, however, deserved to be punished.”

Travis believes his choices caused Gabby to go into a coma. He sees the decision to take her off life support as tantamount to murder, and he believes that this is punishment for his negligent actions.

“I love you, Gabby, more than you’ll ever know. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a wife. You’re every hope and every dream I’ve ever had, and you’ve made me happier than any man could possibly be. I don’t ever want to give that up. I can’t.”

Travis believes that Gabby can hear him even while she is in the coma, and when he has to spend those final moments with her before deciding her fate, he foreshadows the decision he will make, going against her wishes.

“That’s how I knew you’d be great with kids, by the way. Because of how you were with Molly…you were like a mamma bear protecting her cub. It’s impossible to get angry unless you’re capable of loving deeply.”

Travis reminisces on attributes that make him love Gabby, using her dog as a symbol for her loyalty and love. This proves that he saw her best qualities from the beginning, whereas Gabby only began to appreciate him after several more encounters.

“I guess what I’m trying to say is that you two make me believe that true love really exists. And that even the darkest hours can’t take that away.”

The nurse, Gretchen, gives Travis hope by telling him that the outcome of his choice does not affect the fact that he and Gabby share a true love. This belief is an inspiration to Gretchen and others at the hospital, but it doesn’t make Travis’s choice easier.

“I know; I love her, too. I’ve always loved her. She’s not only been the sister I never had but my best friend, too. Sometimes, she felt like my only real friend.”

Stephanie helps Travis realize that he is not the only one mourning Gabby’s absence. She serves a key role in keeping him accountable as a father and a husband while also showing the depth of her relationship with Gabby.

“I want you to promise that if anything ever does happen to me, you’ll let me die.”

Travis has a flashback to the night that Gabby made him promise that if something were to happen to her, he would let her go, which adds to Travis’s confusion about what he should do.

“What he didn’t know was how on earth he could go on knowing Gabby was gone.”

Travis believes that his life with Gabby, even while she is in a coma, is better than a life without Gabby at all. He believes he will be nothing like Kenneth Baker, which fuels his decision to keep her alive.

“Outside the window, the pigeon paced back and forth, making him think it was pondering the decision with him. He felt a strange kinship with the bird.”

Travis sees this pigeon reoccurring as an omen. Soon, it becomes a symbol of Gabby’s awakening.

“Sometimes it seemed not only that God wanted Gabby to die, but that He wanted Travis to know it had been entirely his fault.”

Travis places the blame for Gabby’s accident on himself, never mentioning religion or God before this moment. His turn to God in this moment shows both his anger and his desperation to find a reason for his and Gabby’s suffering.

“[T]he two of you, there’s something uncanny about the way you two are with each other. I mean everything—the way you look at each other, the way she relaxes when you put your hand on her back, the way you both seem to know what the other is always thinking, it’s always struck me as extraordinary. That’s another reason I keep putting marriage off. I know I want something like what you two share, and I’m not sure I’ve found it yet. I’m not sure I ever will. And with love like that, they say anything’s possible, right?”

Stephanie tells Travis that although the decision he made went against Gabby’s wishes, she thinks it was the right one because they were chosen for each other. This highlights the theme of Coincidence Versus Destiny, as she argues that the strength of their love will help Gabby recover.

“He felt a kind of spark, and all at once, he felt her slowly coming back to him.”

Travis makes an allusion to Snow White, comparing his last kiss with Gabby to some magical event that would bring her back to him. Referencing this fairy tale hints at a happy ending for the couple.

“How far should a person go in the name of love?”

Travis asks this question multiple times throughout the novel, to multiple people, but in the end, he has to decide the answer for himself. This highlights the theme of Challenges of Romantic Relationships. There is no single right answer to this question because everyone interprets love in a slightly different way.

“Hope, he learned, was sometimes all a person had, and in the past four months, he had learned to embrace it.”

After making his decision, Travis returns to some sense of normalcy, giving up the desire to control the outcome and appreciating the life he and Gabby shared. He knows that no matter what happens, he acted according to hope, and that is a decision he can live with.