If I Stay Chapter 3: 9:23 A.M. Summary

How It All Goes Down

  • Mia wonders if she's dead.
  • The paramedics arrive, and as they try to revive her, Mia realizes she isn't dead. But she is barely clinging onto life.
  • "You hang in there" (3.16), one of the paramedics tells Mia.
  • Mia has a flashback to her first cello recital.
  • Mia is way nervous, and she asks her dad for advice on getting over her anxiety.
  • "You don't. You just work through it. You just hang in there" (3.43), says Pops.
  • Translation: fake it 'til you make it.