The Fall of One Matthias Bernard
READING AGE 12+
This book tells the ruthless story of Matthias Bernard, who lights his first cigarette at 15 and signs, without knowing it, the contract for his own early death. By 40, his lungs are ruined, his body is failing, and the cancer growing inside him is just the final word on a choice he kept making every day.
As he lies dying, every cough feels like a bill coming due for all the “harmless” smokes he once laughed about with his friends. He sees clearly that cigarettes did not just kill him; they stole his breath, his chances, his ordinary joys, and decades of life he should have had. With what little strength he has left, Matthias begs anyone younger than him to listen: do not start smoking, because it will not just hurt you—it will take everything from you and leave you with nothing but regret.
Unfold
By mid-semester, my days stopped having edges.
They didn’t begin or end so much as occur. One bled into the next without resistance, like smoke drifting through an open door. I started waking up unsure of what day it was, sometimes unsure of where I was. The dorm room felt interchangeable with every other room I’d ever slept in—s……
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