The five people you meet in heaven

Book title: The five people you meet in heaven

Author: Mitch Albom

Genre: Fiction, Philosophical, Inspirational

Number of pages: 240

First published: 2003

Language: English

Available format: Kindle, hardcover, paperback, audiobook

The five people you meet in heaven is a story about a man named Eddie which begins with the end of him dying in Ruby Pier. It may seem strange to read a story with an ending. But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time. Each person Eddie meets gives a lesson to make him understand what happened in his life.

Everyone has an idea of heaven, as do most religions, and they should all be respected. The version represented here is only a guess, a wish, in some ways, that the author’s uncle and others like him- people who felt unimportant here on earth- realize, finally, how much they mattered and how they were loved.
The story goes back and forth discussing Eddie’s birthdays over the years and his encounter with people he meets in heaven. Telling him how they are connected with each other, despite not knowing or meeting.

The first person he meets (Blue man) teaches,
FAIRNESS: does not govern life and death. If it did, no good person would ever die young. STRANGERS: are just family you have yet to come to know.
NO LIFE IS A WASTE: The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.

The second person he meets (Captain) teaches,
DYING: Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning.
SACRIFICE: Is a part of life. It’s supposed to be and not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to, little sacrifice/ big sacrifice.

Third-person (Ruby) teaches,
Holding anger is poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.

The fourth person (Marguerite/wife) teaches,
Life has to end, love doesn’t.
Lost love is still loved. It takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory: It becomes your partner. You nurture it, hold it, and dance with it.

The last person (Tala) tells him the entire journey while connecting all the threads. The answers he was searching for, finally get satiated.

This book is thought-provoking with philosophical lessons which inspire you. Would recommend it to those who love reading psychological and philosophical fiction.