Book #60
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly 20 years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS - or motor neurone disease - Morrie visited Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live.
Mitch Albom is one of my favourite authors. His novels always blow me away, and I'm a bit embarrassed that it's taken me so long to get around to this one since it's quite clearly a subject that's very close to his heart. I'm almost at a loss as to how to begin this review, as I can't seem to put my thoughts in order. It was wonderful.
Morrie is a remarkable character, and incredibly open with everyone in his life. He cries openly, asks to hold hands with people he loves, and in doing this inspires people not to hold back, to do things before it's too late. He also never missed an opportunity to help someone, or to make a difference. This would seem trite to me had the novel been fiction, but this man did all of these things. This book is non-fiction, and his biography.
I can't describe how inspirational this book was to me. It advises you not to hold back, to enjoy life and your own emotions to the full, without letting anything get the better of you. It teaches you to experience your emotions entirely, but also how to detach from them before letting them consume you.
Morrie's life lessons were laid out in such a way that I was able to completely absorb his opinions on different aspects of life. Mitch visited Morrie every Tuesday until his death, and every Tuesday they discussed a different matter. Love, forgiveness, emotions and family were each devoted a Tuesday to ensure nothing was missed, and everything was talked through.
Mitch Albom's writing style throughout the book completely gives away his sheer compassion for this man who taught him so much. His in-depth descriptions of Morrie and his past, even his childhood, really show how deep a friendship they had, and how well they knew each other.
I really feel this book has helped me to take a look at myself and how I'm living life. I have learnt an amazing lesson, and already I want to read through it again just to see how I'm doing. But I'll do that maybe a bit later, to see how I feel about the book at a future date.
I consider this a must-read.