Nikki Erlick Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Nikki Erlick is a literary fiction author and editor whose work appeared in Cosmopolitan, New York Magazine, Newsweek, and BookTrib, among others. Being a travel writer, Erlick explored many countries on assignment ranging from rural villages in France to the Artic fjords of Norway.

Nikki Erlick has written for entrepreneurs, academics and CEOs as a ghostwriter. She graduated from Harvard University and was an editor of the Harvard Crimson. Later the author was awarded her master’s degree in Global Thought from Columbia University.

The Measure
All around the world, everyone aged 22 years and above wakes up to a wooden box at their doorstep. Inside the boxes shows how the recipient will live depending on whether they get a short or long string.
Panic is everywhere as no security footage shows anyone delivering the boxes. Their only information is that the strings determine how long a person will live. But who sent the boxes, and what was the motive?

For those who got the short string, it was their chance to think about their death with their close ones giving them a chance to say their goodbyes. Some people even decided not to open their boxes since they were happy with their lives without knowing how long they would live.

Knowing you’re almost dying soon makes one want to live their lives differently. Some people deal with the information honorably, while others get worse. There is discrimination everywhere, and relationship change. How can one manage life’s risks knowing your string status?

The day starts like any other, where everyone wakes up and does their daily routine. Only this day, a small wooden box is waiting for you outside the door holding your fate. The box holds the number of years when you’ll live.

From the suburbs to the desert tents, everyone has received their box. But where did the boxes come from? Is there any truth in what they say? Society is both coming together and tearing apart as everyone is faced with the same frightening choice. Do people wish to know how long they’ll live? If yes, what will one do with the knowledge at hand?

The outcome of the boxes causes trauma and chaos all over the world. Those with short strings find themselves trying exclusion as most lose their jobs, rights to be treated like the rest, health insurance and getting recruited into important positions in government jobs.

Politicians even use their shortcomings to their benefit as they turn democratic regulations into oppression. The author encounters eight people on their life’s journey, and like the rest of the world, they have also received their wooden box that contains a string. People have no choice but to live with a destiny they already know.

Even though people know that they’ll die one day and no one can ever escape death, they think it’s better when it stays hidden because the revelations bring in a lot of fear. The heart of the story told in empathy is how the eight people handle their knowledge of their end.

There is a mixture of emotions and feelings that the reader can’t help from being drawn into the story. Even though there are no boxes in the real world, everyone knows that, in reality, there is one.
How do people react to the knowledge of their remaining days? Relieve after finding yours is a long string versus the sadness in the short one. What will happen if one has a long stringer while their partner has a short stringer?

Can employers ask to see one string before hiring? Should one have children knowing so well that they’ll be dead after a few years?

It’s like asking someone whether they want to know their day of death. Would one’s life change because they are aware of their last day? People appreciate of living, having family and friends and each day bringing in good things.

Should people live in fear, afraid that any day might be their last day? The author explores humanity’s obsession with quantity and quality of life, scrutinizing what if every person could have information about when their life on earth will end.

If there was a choice to find out, would you want to know how much time you’ve left? Erlick takes the interesting question further, asking how it would affect the culture, politics and attitudes.
The measure shows the chart of a new world through an unforgettable character whose decisions interlink with one another. They include pen pals who find refuge in the unknown, a doctor who isn’t able to save himself, a best friend whose dreams are connected, and a couple who thought they were not supposed to rush.

The author shows how easy prejudice can arise as those with short strings become reckless with their lives after receiving the information. Their despair is dangerous, more like the modern culture’s concern for mental health.

As prejudice comess to political strategy in running for an office, one must show the length of their string, or they will not be voted for. Are they supposed to vie for platforms depending on the size of their strings? This causes sociopolitical issues to become rampant.

The novel is mostly about love and relationships and how each character and their close ones deal with frightening knowledge. However, the book also looks at the impact of the message positively as it forces one to an examination of one’s priorities and what the most important thing is regardless of the length of their life.

The knowledge can help reflect on themselves, their dreams and hopes. It’s good to watch everyone’s reaction from grief, sadness, despair, and joy.

The measure is a well-written book with an outstanding storyline. It calls for people to practice human emotions such as joy, happiness and empathy as they eliminate those who place them in fear and anxiety.
Nikki Erlick makes one question their reactions if one day they receive a box containing a string representing the length of their life. Would you open it, or would you live it and live in uncertainty?
How would you react to its length? Would it make a change in your life choices? Would you tell your friends and loved ones how long your string is? What if you and your spouse had different lengths? Would you marry the love of your life knowing they will die in a few years?

The cast of characters was woven together, adding flesh to the story.