Book review - Tuesdays with Morrie Book by Mitch Albom

 

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

    I am yet another fan and follower of this book. It remains a book I re-read every few months, especially during times of despair and confusion—a ritual I have tried to maintain since 2000. I have watched the videos and movie adaptations of the same title multiple times, but this book offers an escape that helps me connect with the realities of life.

    “Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson” is a 1997 memoir by American author Mitch Albom. The book is about a series of conversations that occurred when Albom visited his former Brandeis University sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz. Schwartz was dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As an adult, I always seek a simplistic explanation of life—no heavy words, no heavy phrases. 'Tuesdays with Morrie' came as a blessing in disguise for me.

    We might all want to know the bigger questions about life itself: the complexities, the relationships, and whatnot. Mitch felt the same way. Trapped in the rat race, he ultimately finds himself in a trap. He yearns for the truth about life. After finding Morrie a second time, he enters his shelter and learns a lot about life from a person,who is in his last stage of life, having experienced all the weathers of life.

Thoughts after reading- It's completely natural to feel scared of death, but it's something we all have to face eventually. One of the most unsettling aspects is that no one truly knows what it's like to be dead, leaving us with many unanswered questions. On top of that, when we look at the bigger picture, it can feel like we’re just tiny blimps in a vast universe—after all, tens of thousands of people pass away every day, and many of those lives fade from public view. While living, it is important to recognize that navigating life often requires more than just "love"; those comforting sayings can sometimes feel less comforting than we hope. The book makes me wonder about all these soft sides of life and living. 


Quotes from the book-

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”

“Accept who you are; and revel in it.”

“Don't cling to things because everything is impermanent.”

“Be compassionate…And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place."

“There is no such thing as 'too late' in life.”