![The Five People You Meet in Heaven](/summary-img/4238-J09AVTE8.jpg?h=M&b=0)
Recommendation
Mitch Albom’s fable is almost as much a poem as it is a book. You might be tempted to call it a fairy tale for adults, but fairy tales don’t have 83-year-old maintenance men with bitter regrets and grease-stained fingers. Meet Eddie, a man whose life is haunted by an abusive father, a cherished wife lost young to cancer and a child he accidentally killed during war. When Eddie dies while saving a little girl from falling debris at the amusement park where he works, he begins a new journey, a trek through heaven where the deeper meaning of his life’s meandering course is revealed to him. He learns that from heaven’s perspective, all lives are secretly interconnected. He also comes to understand that people must forgive in order to move forward, on earth as well as in heaven, and that love prevails over death every time. This is an elegantly written, approachable small book filled with a gentle sort of kind wisdom. Thankfully, it is almost no more saccharine than necessary. getAbstract recommends it warmly, though heaven is a bit off our beaten path.
Summary
About the Author
Detroit Free Press syndicated columnist Mitch Albom is the author of the bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie and six other books. The Associated Press Sports Editors of America named him the country’s top sports columnist 13 times. He founded two volunteer programs: A Time to Help and The Dream Fund, which helps underprivileged kids study art.
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