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.”
June 13, 2010 @ 12:21 pm
hey…!!!!!!
sally…
ur books r fantastic…specially ways to live forever…i literally cried while i was reading this book….many of my frnds n i have formed a group…nd we published an article about u n ur books…ur an inspiration to me…. n i am trying to be a gr8 writer like u..
greetings from me and my frnds…
June 7, 2010 @ 1:21 pm
Hi Sally,
My son (age 12) has dyslexia and rarely reads at all. 2 months ago, his father died. Now his school teacher asked the class to read your book. My son started last Friday and finished yesterday – 3 days! He has never before read so fast and he was never before so emotionally caught by anything written, it really seemed to help him cope with his dad’s death.
Thank you for writing so beautifully on a difficult subject.
Jay’s Mum
June 1, 2010 @ 12:55 pm
hi sally your book is amazing i love it.! i could totally read it again it is so understanding. Thanks is great!!!!x
May 30, 2010 @ 5:13 pm
Hi..sally
I’m from TURKEY
I think this book is fantastic!
It is so GREAT !!
i’m fainting you!
May 12, 2010 @ 7:45 pm
I am from england and i have just read this book…..which i find amazing!!!
I am inspired by him he isnt afraid of anything…..highly inspired!!! 😀
May 4, 2010 @ 5:12 am
hi…sally
i’m frm INDIA
i lyk ur book very much…
it’s very interesting…
i also write many stories…
April 25, 2010 @ 9:39 pm
Hi! I think this book is fantastic! Sally is coming into my school next wee, and I am really looking forward to it, ive read both of the two books now…they’re just as good as each other. Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you next week.
Lydia
April 22, 2010 @ 10:40 pm
holy cow!!! this book was great, i read it for my book report at school and loved it i recamended it to all my bff’s and teachers, great job sally!!!!
April 13, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
I started this book this morning and finished it straight away! This book is so touching, I just don’t understand how you wrote something so inspiring!
You see, when I grow up I also want to be a writer, and I love seeking for inspiring writers like Sam likes to seek for facts.
I LOVE this book.
Even everything I’m saying now is too less to describe how great this book was! I could feel that I was the character, I was the one who wrote the essay on near-death experience and that I was the one with platelets!
I’m just speechless. I don’t know HOW I can describe this book.
It’s a too-good and must-read book.
April 13, 2010 @ 1:51 am
Loved