What if you knew how long you had to live?

This is the plot facing characters in “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick.

But this novel gave me pause before I even read the first words. It was this quote, attributed to Mary Oliver, that made me stop: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

That is a good question.

“The Measure” begins with a box arriving at every doorstep for those who are over 21. No one knows where the boxes come from, and every single one is inscribed with the same message: “The measure of your life lies within.”

That measure is a string. Some long, some medium, some super short.

As governments are wont to do, experts start gathering data on the correlation between the length of a string and the length of a person’s life.

Soon a website goes live with a calculator where people can input the length of their string and find out how long they will live.

And here is the dilemma: Would you open the box and calculate that number to the month of your death? Or would you leave the box unopened, collecting dust in the closet while you go about your life blissfully unaware if this is your last day?

“The Measure” introduces a cast of characters who we follow through rotating chapters. A vernacular soon emerges of “long-stringers” and “short-stringers.” There are also those who do not open the box. Lines are drawn and snap judgments made.

A mass shooting? Must be an unstable short-stringer. Someone didn’t survive a horrendous accident? They must have a long string.

Some discover a short string in their box and begin living wild, convinced that they don’t have long anyway.

Similarly, those with long strings take to reckless endeavors because they know they won’t die anytime soon.

And when a certain politician running for president opens his own long string, he uses it to leverage his campaign because who wants to elect someone who will die in office?

(This is answered, succinctly, with examples of presidents who did indeed die unexpectedly but still left their legacy: John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, to name two.)

Human nature is fascinating to study, and we watch the characters grapple with their newfound knowledge. Couples with a different length string think about the future; single people debate whether they would consider dating someone with a short string.

As the book progresses, the separate stories slowly intertwine and connect in ways that tie the novel together.

Many stories about the short-stringers are sad — but who hasn’t cried over a life cut impossibly short?

As I told friends about this book, the inevitable question arose: Would I open my box?

I don’t think I would.

I know it would be hard to have that knowledge sitting there, at my fingertips, day after day.

But I truly believe we should live each day the best way possible — smile at strangers, stop to admire a beautiful flower, be as kind as possible, say “I love you.”

Because, no matter if our days are many or few, we should do our best to live and laugh and love.

Which brings to mind another famous quote, by Ralph Waldo Emerson: “It’s not the length of life, but the depth.”