Blog Tour: Never Eighteen- Chat with Austin

I would like to introduce you today to Austin, the protagonist of Megan Bostic's debut novel, Never Eighteen, which will be released next year. Austin is here to chat about his very important deadline and answer a few of my questions. Be sure to look for my review of the book tomorrow. 

 Thank you so much for being here, Austin. I know that you are on a very strict deadline and what to make the best out of the time you have left. What type of illness did your doctors diagnose you with? 

Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

What were the first thoughts that popped into your head when the doctors told you about your disease?
I felt numb and trapped in a nightmare from which I couldn’t wake up.

Did you ever have a bucket list of things you wanted to do before you got sick? Has it changed since and if so, how? 
 
I never really thought about death before. I mean, what teenager does? Even when Jake died, I never considered that it could happen to me. So, no, no bucket list. I was just enjoying life.
Everything has changed since I got sick. Having a terminal disease makes you see the world differently. I did end up making a bucket list. I wanted to do things I’d never done, visit places I’d never been, or that had meant a lot to me at some point in my life. I wanted to face my deepest fears.
Most importantly, the disease opened my eyes to the people that were standing still while life moved on without them. I wanted them to see the value of their lives, to show them that you only get one shot and it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

What does the common phrase carpe diem mean to you? 

To me it means to live every day as if it were your last.

What does the meaning to life and beauty mean to you? 

Life is a gift and beauty is what’s earned by living it. You know the saying, stop and smell the roses? That’s what I’m talking about. Enjoy life, the big things and the small. Breathe them in, embrace them; let them wrap themselves around you. If you do that, beauty will surround you. But, if you speed through life or become stagnant letting it pass you by you will inevitably miss the beauty within it.

Do you have any regrets? 

The only regret I have is not seeking those people out before the cancer. We shouldn’t wait until life hands us tragedies to help those around us. The sooner we step in, perhaps the sooner a resolution will be found.

What was your favorite journey with Kaylee? 

Definitely Mount Rainier. To share with her a place that meant so much to me felt profoundly eternal.

If you could give us one piece of advice about living, what would it be? 

Live it like you mean it. You never know when it will be taken from you.

Austin Parker is on a journey to bring truth, beauty, and meaning to his life.
Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. The doctors say his chances of surviving are slim to none even with treatment, so he’s decided it’s time to let go.
    But before he goes, Austin wants to mend the broken fences in his life. So with the help of his best friend, Kaylee, Austin visits every person in his life who touched him in a special way. He journeys to places he’s loved and those he’s never seen. And what starts as a way to say goodbye turns into a personal journey that brings love, acceptance, and meaning to Austin’s life.