working backwards

I wrote the novel’s ending years ago so in a sense I’ve been working towards it all the while.  Now as I get closer to it, I think it’s a very fine ending for a novel, but I’m not sure it’s the right ending for this one.  It’s too hopeful, and while I’m all about hope (not really), the book is about the opposite.  It’s no secret the book ends with a death (Spoiler alert: Book 4 is titled “The Death of Amanda N”), but it’s need an ending that accents the loss inherent in it.

Update:  I cut it all together.