Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie
By: Mitch Albom
Copyright: 1997
Broadway Books

3 Bookmarks out of 5

Well, I found myself reading Tuesdays with Morrie for a variety of reasons. One of the first reasons is that it mysteriously found its way onto my bookshelf. This doesn't concern me because there are a lot of books that end up on my bookshelf randomly. My older sister and next door neighbor have also said how much they truly enjoyed the book. Those two aren't exactly voracious readers, so I figured that any book that grabbed their attention must be good. I also have read For One More Day by Mitch Albom and that wasn't a complete disaster of a book. I figured maybe I could gain some sort of life lesson from the book, right? After all it was a made-for-TV movie back in the day and was also a play, right? So I decided to give it a chance.

For those of you who are not familiar with the background of Tuesdays with Morrie, it won't take long to give you a brief synopsis of what the book is about. Mitch Albom had an amazing college professor, Morrie Schwartz. Morrie taught Mitch to open his mind and was a real mentor to him. Fast forward sixteen years after Mitch's graduation and Mitch is caught up in the material life as a journalist. He has forgotten about his favorite professor until he catches Nightline with Ted Koppel about a man who is dying from ALS. It turns out that the man who is dying is Mitch's old college professor, Morrie. So begins a 14 week lesson on dying which takes place every Tuesday in Morrie's Massachusetts home.

Like the other book by Mitch Albom I have read, Tuesdays with Morrie was not a book that took a lot of effort to read. I spread out the reading over 2 days, but in reality it probably only took me 3 hours to read. That's probably why so many people have latched on to it - in my opinion, the general public enjoys picking up books that are easy to digest because they like books that don't require much thinking to get through. I'm not saying that this book doesn't do some thinking - Morrie throws out philosophies on life and death every other chapter. But these philosophies are easy for the reader to digest and it doesn't feel like you are reading a college level textbook on what it means to live and what it means to die.

I guess the reason I felt like this book let me down is because Morrie's advice didn't seem so profound. I already knew that the best things in life aren't money and material things. I already knew that investing in the love of family and friends will bring you joy in life. I also know that accepting death as a natural course of life is an okay thing to do. I have this medical thing where my blood pressure suddenly drops from time to time and I faint. Just from learning how to deal with these occasional episodes, I already related to what Morrie was saying about how to detach from reality in those situations. I always understand how to accept what is happening to my body, even if it is terrifying to know exactly what is happening but being powerless to stop it. I guess some readers who have never experienced a loss of control of their own body would never have thought of that, but for me it is something that crosses my mind on a daily basis.

Another reason why this book didn't stand out to me is the fact that one question kept going through my mind. What makes Morrie so special? People die from terminal illnesses everyday. I'm sure those people have come up with some wonderful life philosophies as well. I'm also sure that they will never have a journalist friend come around and write them all down to get a publishing deal. I'm not trying to offend Morrie in anyway, but I just want to know what makes him so great compared to others' loved ones? I also didn't like when Mitch made a comment that his alma mater only sent him mailings when they wanted money. Now, I fund-raise for higher education, so this part also sort of offended me. Your alma mater sends you mailings to keep you connected with the school and to ask you to give back so that way the school can continue to give quality education to deserving students. If Morrie was all about giving back to the community, I can hardly see an easier way than supporting a scholarship fund from the school that you attended.

Overall, I found the book to be an easy read for someone who may be contemplating the meaning of life and what it means to die. I also think this book is a great way for someone who may be grieving. I'm not saying it will lessen your pain, but it may help shed some light on what you can do to help the memory of a loved one live on. Ultimately, I find myself unimpressed with Mitch Albom and I wish he had touched on some heavier subjects - such as religion and God. After all, haven't all religions stemmed from the fact that ultimately, we all will die? Come to think of it, this is not a pick-me-up book. Only read it if you are ready to do some introspective thinking.