Grief (novel)
During the course of the novel, the ideas of the stages of grief are introduced. The stages are denial, anger, depression, and acceptance. The narrator, as well as other characters in the story, slowly passes through these stages in trying to deal with death.
Before I Fall
Through this "Groundhog Day" phenomenon, Sam experiences all five stages of grief. Denial is seen as she tries to evade her fate; she gets angry and rebels, lashing out at her friends (particularly Lindsay) and hanging out with students she would never dare be seen speaking with; she bargains with God, or fate, believing that if she can make things right, she can save her own life; depression, in which she feels that nothing even matters and where in she begins acting uncharacteristically and recklessly by having sex; and finally, acceptance. The Sam who accepts her death – but only if she is able to save Juliet Sykes from committing suicide – is a very different person from the girl on the first page of the book.