I recently read Mitch Albom’s new book The Five People You Meet in Heaven. As many of you are aware, Albom, a well-respected sports columnist, is the author of the bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the story of Morrie Schwartz, one of Albom’s professors at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Morrie died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Tuesdays with Morrie was based on weekly interviews that Album conducted with his former professor prior to the latter’s death. During the interviews Morrie shared his philosophy of life. At a time when people are searching for meaning in their lives, it is little wonder that millions were captivated by Morrie’s warmth, courage, and insight. The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a truly thought-provoking book, which has as its main character a man named Eddie, based on Albom’s uncle, Eddie Beitchman, who died a couple of years ago. The book’s Eddie is an 83-year-old amusement park repairman who lost his wife at an early age. He has no children and he feels that he has led a meaningless existence. During the first chapter Eddie is killed attempting to save a little girl from a defective ride. After his death he…
