Name: Karen Lorena Rodríguez Sepúlveda

Code: 201710905

VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE

The story of this book takes place in Slovenia, there lived a beautiful young woman
named Veronika who was 24 years old, she had everything anyone could want, she had
the love of her parents, fabulous friends, traveled and had a very active social life.
However, one day she felt that despite all that, her life was gray, monotonous and sad,
coming to the conclusion that she had lived as long as she could and that it was time to
commit suicide, so she ingested an overdose of drugs, and expected death.

Veronika does not die and after being unconscious for a while, she wakes up in a
hospital bed and is informed that she is in a sanatorium for the mentally ill called
"Villete". He needed a few days to understand that he could not commit suicide and
finally decides to talk to his doctor, Igor. He explains that the medicines he took caused
severe and irreversible damage to his heart, and that he had only a few days to live.
Faced with this, Veronika considered that she should try suicide again, and not wait
passively for death to come.

She was in the way of ending her life, and suddenly she starts to stumble into things,
people, and situations completely new to her. He met two patients in the hospital with
whom he befriended, Mari and Zedka, and learned of the reasons why they had been
admitted. One day in the hospital, she finds a piano, which she starts playing regularly.
So, he met Edward, a young man who was confined in Villete because of schizophrenia
problems. Soon they started talking inside the hospital.

Little by little, Veronika’s vision of the world and her life changed, she understood that
her way of seeing the world before suicide was limited, and that she had always felt
afraid of disappointing her parents, so she always did what was expected of her. He also
realized that life brings risks and disappointments, but through Edward, he understood
that it can also bring love. Edward also improved since he met Veronika.

The doctor explained to Veronika that she was using an experimental treatment,
consisting of injections, in the hope of reversing the damage caused by the drugs.
Veronika changed her perspective on life, understanding that every day she lived was a
day when she could die and wanted to make the most of it.

Knowing that she had less and less time to live, Veronika felt worse every day, and
asked the doctor, as a last request, to allow her to go out and do with Edward several of
the things that had never been allowed. She goes for a walk with the young man and
they did simple things that there Veronika found significant. The walk lengthened and
Veronika fell asleep with Eduardo on top of a hill. With surprise, she discovers when she
wakes up that she is still alive, and that she is better than ever.

In the end, the doctor reflected on the success of his treatment: he had deceived
Veronika by telling her that she had little time left to live, and by injecting her with a
medication that simulated heart disease. The doctor considered that he had reversed
the young woman’s desire to commit suicide, making him see the nearness of death.