So, in Julia Whelan’s book My Oxford Year, Jamie doesn’t explicitly die on the page, but he still has terminal cancer. Ultimately, he’s able to live a bit longer and go on this adventure he’d talked about with his love, who is named Anna in the movie and Ella in the book.

Corey Mylchreest explains that the decision to change the ending was meant to reflect Jamie’s philosophy of living fully in the present. “He doesn’t have that many nows left,” Mylchreest told Entertainment Weekly, noting that a traditional happy ending would undermine Jamie’s beliefs and emotional authenticity.