Content Warning: This section contains discussion of suicide and child death. 

Murray McBride is the protagonist and narrator of The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride. He is 100 years old and has outlived his wife, Jenny, and his two sons. He does not have a good relationship with his only grandson, Chance. At the beginning of the book, it has been 18 months since Jenny’s death, and Murray has lost interest in continuing to live without her. He has to take medication every day to keep fluid from building up in his lungs and killing him, but he is otherwise healthy. The book does not name Murray’s medical condition. Murray plans to stop taking his pills one day so that he can finally die. His longevity means that Murray often has trouble Accepting the Passage of Time. In addition to wishing he could just move on, he complains constantly about young people and seems unwilling or unable to comprehend the ways that the world has changed. He is derisive about linguistic changes and body piercings. 

As the story progresses, Murray learns about The Importance of Human Connection through his relationship with Jason.