The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

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source: purchased
title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
author: Mitch Albom/ Twitter
published: Hachette Books (April 7, 2003)
pages: 196
first line: This is a story about a man named Eddie and it begins at the end, with Eddie dying in the sun.
rated: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
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blurb:
Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in a meaningless life of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. His days are a dull routine of work, loneliness, and regret.

Then, on his 83rd birthday, Eddie dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers. Yet each of them changed your path forever.

One by one, Eddie’s five people illuminate the unseen connections of his earthly life. As the story builds to its stunning conclusion, Eddie desperately seeks redemption in the still-unknown last act of his life: Was it a heroic success or a devastating failure The answer, which comes from the most unlikely of sources, is as inspirational as a glimpse of heaven itself.

In The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom gives us an astoundingly original story that will change everything you’ve ever thought about the afterlife–and the meaning of our lives here on earth. With a timeless tale, appealing to all, this is a book that readers of fine fiction, and those who loved Tuesdays with Morrie, will treasure.

my thoughts:
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is one of my daughter’s favorite books. After she read it in school she raved to me about it and insisted that I read it too. I read this one quickly and now I can also add it to my list of favorite books as well.


As I read I enjoyed Mitch Albom’s style of writing, I was instantly immersed in Eddie’s story. It is an interesting concept of the author’s that each of us meets five people in heaven that will teach us a life lesson to help us better understand. The main idea here is that all of our lives are intertwined and we all affect each other whether we realize it or not.

The book begins with Eddie dying. He felt as though he never really accomplished much in his life working as a carnival ride maintenance man, this weighs heavily on him. He had a poor relationship with his father and this affected his life and the path he chose to take. Eddie’s wife Marguerite was the love of his life and the one person who kept him going. I really can’t go into too much detail without giving too much away, but there were such sweet scenes between these two. Another scene that got to me was from when Eddie was in the army with his Captain. I’ll leave it at that.

Although at times this book gets borderline preachy, as Eddie learns a lesson from each of the five people he meets, like forgiveness and sacrifice, overall this was a moving story that I very much enjoyed. This one was a tear jerker and I recommend it.

“Life has to end,” she said. “Love doesn’t.”
p.173, The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

about the author:
Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned author, screenwriter, playwright, nationally syndicated columnist, broadcaster and musician. He is the author of six consecutive number one New York Times bestsellers–including Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time–and his books have collectively sold more than thirty-five million copies in forty-five languages. Four of his books have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies. He has founded eight charities in Detroit and Haiti, where he operates an orphanage. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. Learn more at www.mitchalbom.com and http://www.mitchalbomcharities.orgsour

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Disclaimer: I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

12 thoughts on “The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom”

  1. I have heard good things about this book. Much of it sounds very interesting. Stories that look into entire lifetimes and turning points within those lifetimes often fascinate me.

    I might find the preachiness off putting however.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Hi Naida,

    I hope that everything is okay with you and that it has simply been a matter of you being rushed off your feet with day-to-day life as to why you haven’t been online so much of late.

    This probably isn’t a book for me, as despite your very even-handed review, I was already detecting the ‘preachy’ tones you mentioned. I think that hubbie has either read one of Mitch’s books in the past, or he might have been a motivational after dinner speaker at one of the company events, when Dave worked for US companies and travelled over for conferences etc.

    I guess the notion of each of meeting 5 people in heaven who teach you a life lesson each, is very akin to the ‘6 degrees of separation’ theory…

    Six degrees of separation is the theory that anyone on the planet can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. The theory was first proposed in 1929 by the Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy in a short story called “Chains.”

    …where a chain of acquaintances has no more than five intermediaries

    It is good to see that you share some of your reading tastes with your daughter and vice versa, it could make for some very interesting exchanges of ideas.

    Take Care and thanks for all your comments, I’m off now to answer some of them 🙂

    Yvonne

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hi Yvonne. I am fine over here, thank you. I’ve still been reading, but don’t make too much time to sit at my computer and blog. I hope you are doing well too.
      That is interesting about the 6 degrees of separation theory and Chains. Food for thought.
      I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

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  5. Naida, it’s great to read the same books as our daughters! I’m glad you both enjoyed it. This book does make you think about how our lives are intertwined, and how we may affect each other, sometimes (often, perhaps) unknowingly. Mitch Albom’s work is very touching. Terrific review!

    On a different note,I’ve been having some issues with blog comments, and one of your recent comments may have been mistakenly deleted. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, and for all of your gracious comments.

    I hope the rest of your Sunday is relaxing.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I’ve never read anything by Mitch Albom, but he keeps getting recommended as an author so I might give him a try. I like the sound of this book, how it explores re-evaluating life in new ways.

    Liked by 1 person

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