Ways to Live Forever
Sam loves facts. He wants to know about UFOs and horror movies and airships and ghosts and scientists, and how it feels to kiss a girl.
And because he has leukaemia he wants to know the facts about dying. Sam needs answers to the questions nobody will answer.
My name is Sam. I am eleven years old. I collect stories and fantastic facts. By the time you read this, I will probably be dead.
True Facts About Ways to Live Forever
1.
I really did run up down escalators when I was writing this book. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for ages and I thought, if Sam can do it, so can I. I did it in the same place Sam does – at the Cornmill Centre in Darlington.
2.
The chapter Visits is based on something my mother did after I was diagnosed with diabetes as a child. It was supposed to be a funny scene – but it didn’t turn out that way when I wrote it.
3.
I deleted over 20,000 words while writing this book (the finished novel is around 32,000 words long). Some of the scenes I deleted include a list of famous last words, a description of how a dead body decomposes and a scene where Sam and Felix try and break their world record by dropping water bombs on Sam’s dad.
4.
There are a few real names and places in this book. Auntie Nicola, Auntie Sarah and Auntie Carolyn are named after friends of mine, as is Raoul, the airship pilot. Stanley Rhode (the airship captain) gets his name from Stanley Road, the street I lived on at university. My friends and I always meant to put Stanley Rhode into one of our essays but never did, so I put him in the book instead. High Strawberry – on Sam’s list of favourite things – is also a real place. We used to stay there when I was a child.
5.
The first words I wrote when I began this book were:
List No. 1 – Five Important Facts About Me
1. My name is David Oliver Robinson.
2. I am eleven years, two months and seven days old.
3. I have one sister. Her name is Katherine Anne Robinson and she is nine years old.
4. I have acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
5. By the time you read this, I will already be dead.
Reviews of Ways to Live Forever
“impressed by Sally Nicholls’ sensitive handling of terminal illness in Ways to Live Forever”
“Sympathetic, touching, and surprisingly funny…”
“Sally Nicholls has precisely captured the contents of an 11-year-old boy’s head in all its humorous, list-making splendour.”
January 21, 2012 @ 10:57 pm
i love this book i am doing a project on it
January 20, 2012 @ 10:36 am
我很喜欢你的书，不知道你能看懂吗？
January 18, 2012 @ 11:15 am
Hi Sally,
your story make a billion people get a new motivation,….
January 18, 2012 @ 6:36 am
This book was an amazing read. I still regret losing it soon after. Why? I loved it so much I carried it everywhere and lost it. xD
Amazing story. I saw the list of facts about Sam and stopped any thought of homework and went straight to reading it. As the name I put here says, this is inspiring. Live your last moments happily. 🙂 Sam is an amazing boy. Fictional or not.
January 8, 2012 @ 8:34 am
this book is awesome hats off
November 25, 2011 @ 3:17 pm
Hi sally, I am from India …. Your book fantastic….. The way of writing is good and love to read your books.. Waiting for “All fall down: A survival story”…….. Good luck<3
November 20, 2011 @ 9:59 pm
Am .. Hello Sally
I love to read me your book as just and seen the movie. From what is known and I love it.
Cheers fan more for you.
November 15, 2011 @ 7:42 pm
i actually reaaaaaaaaly love this book . I had to buy the french version though and its called ” Quand vous lirez ce livre ”
keep writting !! 🙂 <3
October 6, 2011 @ 1:44 pm
this. is. just. TOTALLY. AWESOME!
couldn’t help for crying my eyes out right after done reading this one. totally epic. BRAVO!
August 28, 2011 @ 5:24 am
a heart touch book