The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Eight common citizens. One exceptional decision. It appears to be a typical day. You get out of bed, make a cup of coffee, and leave. But now, when you enter your front door, a little wooden box is there to greet you. This box contains your destiny, and the precise amount of years you will live. Everybody on every continent gets the same box, from suburban doorsteps to tents in the desert. The entire planet is suddenly thrown into a frenzy. From where did these boxes originate? What are they saying? Do they actually deliver on their promises?
Everyone must make the same shocking decision when society unites and fragments: Do they want to know how long they have to live? If so, how will they use that information? Through an unforgettable cast of characters whose choices and fates intertwine with one another, The Measure charts the dawn of this new world. These characters include best friends whose dreams are forever intertwined, pen pals seeking refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn’t need to hurry, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything.
The Measure is a vast, ambitious, and energizing story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that inspires us to live life to the fullest. It is captivating and profoundly uplifting.
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Readers are prompted by the story of author Nikki Erlick to consider the question that each character in the novel must consider: Would you want to know how long you had to live if you knew? Every person in The Measure who is 22 years of age or older must make this choice after waking up to a box bearing the words “The measure of your life lies within.” The box has a string inside. Your remaining time is represented by the length of the string; the shorter the string, the sooner you will pass away. Nobody is aware of the origin of the boxes, but it has been established that they are real.
One day, it will be possible to predict the day that your life will end. The world is constantly changing. Some folks don’t open their boxes because they don’t want to know. (They mistakenly believe that things will just carry on as usual.) Based on the length of their string, many individuals who do open their boxes immediately alter their life. Relationships suffer as a result. Careers morph. There is a lot of discrimination. Politicians get entangled in the midst of deeply personal individual choices made in response to the question, “Would you want to know how long you had to live?”
Nikki Erlick, a debut author, guides the reader chronologically through the year that follows the delivery of the boxes while providing in-depth insights into the lives of eight different protagonists. There are essentially endless paths the author may choose to explore further in a hypothetical setting like this, with a classic “butterfly effect,” and this is perhaps what keeps “The Measure” from being an absolutely top-notch read throughout. The work suffers from its own thoroughness in certain aspects. The impact of the most potent messages is ultimately diminished by the sheer variety and complexity of the stories.
