Tuesdays With Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson

Rating:
Summary: A book that will make you think about your life.
Review: I read this book after hearing so many good things about it and the TV movie based on it. It's a very quick read - I finished it in two days, which is unheard of for me! The book is basically about Morrie Schwartz, a history professor at Brandeis University, who has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) and is dying. A former student, Mitch Albom, who had become a fairly well known sports writer, heard about his teacher from an interview with Ted Koppel on Nightline and decided to pay a visit. This visit soon turned into regular meetings - on Tuesdays - since at the time there was a strike at Albom's newspaper. Albom plots Morrie's declining health, which is quite depressing, but at the same time imparts Morrie's wisdom. One definitely can get a sense of what the important things in life are from someone who has little left, but Morrie is particularly eloquent and seems to carry an upbeat dignity to the end. Sometimes it takes the wisdom of a dying man to jog us enough to realize that human relationships and health are more important than all the gadgets, modern conveniences, pressures to get ahead professionally and monetarily combined. This is just the main point that Morrie starts "teaching" Albom and getting through to someone who, like many of us from time to time, have gotten obsessed with the real trivialities of life. The only complaint I have about this book is that it wasn't longer. I wanted to take more time and savor the wisdom and sweetness of this old man, but, like his illness's swiftness, reading the book seemed to go by all too quickly.

Rating:
Summary: Changed my perspective.
Review: I'd avoided reading this for a long time because I thought it was about dying - death scenes are always so wrenching for me. However, this simple concept, of tapping Morrie's soul little by little, one day at a time, was easy to digest. It turned out to be a huge life lesson in a very small package. I smiled a lot, cried a little.

It's a book I want to revisit again for the reminder I seem to need, which is to stop worrying about the trivia in life, to slow down and focus on what's really important, and to live fully in the moment I'm in.



Rating:
Summary: Deeply Moving!
Review: It took just one day for me to read "Tuesdays with Morrie" - I just could not put it down! The cover states "an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson", that is exactly what this book is about. Morrie Schwartz was Mitch Albom's professor in college, and friend. They had lost touch and 16 years later, while flipping thru the TV channels one night, Mitch catches an interview Ted Koppel is having with Morrie. This causes Mitch to go visit his old professor. After hugging and catching up a bit, Morrie, known fondly as "Coach" to Mitch, asks Mitch if he'd like to know what it's like to die...and their final class has begun.

Morrie has Lou Gehrigs disease, (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), a progressive and ultimately fatal neuromuscular disease, and is now in a wheelchair fulltime.

Mitch begins to visit Coach on Tuesdays. On fourteen Tuesdays they would discuss life, its meanings, and what is important about living and dying. As the disease progresses, Morrie begins to look at life uniquely and shares with Mitch that the thing he's learning most because of having this disease is "...how to give out love, and to let it come in." Each week they discuss profound things that are yet so simple. They discuss the world, regrets, death, family, emotions, the fear of aging, forgiveness...and goodbye. Morrie imparts such wisdoms as, "Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently." And, "Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it," "Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others ..."

Thru dying, Morrie teaches Mitch how to live.

This book is a treasure and should be read by Everybody!! It teaches things that most people already know, but for some reason do not put into practice in everyday life. This book teaches us to cherish everyone and everything, love and compassion for others is such an important part of life. I plan to give this book as a gift to many people in my life.

Mitch Albom is also the author of "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", another wonderful book that should be part of every home's library. If you like "Tuesdays with Morrie", you will also enjoy "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." I love both books, and I highly recommend them both!!!


Rating:
Summary: Never Too Old To Learn "Life's Greatest Lesson"
Review: Mitch Albom hadn't spoken with Morrie in sixteen years, ever since Mitch graduated from Brandeis University in 1979. He may have never gotten back in touch with his professor that he lovingly refers to as "Coach" if he hadn't been clicking through the channels one evening and seen Morrie being interviewed by Ted Koppel on "Nightline". Tuesdays With Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson is an undeniably touching biography that leaves its readers dabbing their eyes with tissues and not only that, but grasping to read more about the incredible and unforgettable professor of Sociology, Morrie Schwartz, who never stopped learning or sharing his words of wisdom until the day he died.
In his book, Albom gives good grounding so the readers know all about his own past, Morrie's past, and medical knowledge of the disease which has taken control of Morrie, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. At times readers may feel that the details and analysis of Albom's own life aren't needed, but on the contrary, they give insight into the man who changed so much after being with his mentor and friend for only a few short months before Morrie's death.
In the beginning of the book, Albom makes a promise that at the time, he intends to keep. He writes that at his graduation ceremony in 1979, he presents Morrie with a briefcase in hopes that Morrie will never forget him and after a long hug, Morrie asks him if he will keep in touch. Without hesitation Mitch says, "Of course." He does a horrible job of keeping that promise until almost twenty years later when mentor and student are reunited. Mitch Albom tells readers truths about himself that most people would be too ashamed to divulge. This gives readers something to relate to. Mitch becomes a sports reporter in Detroit and on ESPN and when his life gets difficult, his way of running away is to dive deeper into his work and focus on anything but the real problem at hand that he needs to deal with. Too often people get preoccupied with making money and buying the newest and best products available, and we forget about the truly important people and things in our lives that have helped shape us. Some of Morrie's aphorisms are "Devote yourself to others" and "Love always wins". We all need to be reminded of these truths sometimes, and Morrie illuminates many of them in his weekly, tape-recorded sessions with Albom.
Tuesdays With Morrie teaches the deeper meaning of life. The book is structured in such a way that there is a chapter on all of one through fourteen weeks and then there is a flashback. It could be of either Albom or Morrie's life. These flashbacks explain pertinent information and are a wonderful way to engage the reader without giving too much unneeded information that could make the book go on much longer than it had too. The 192-page hardback book is the perfect length book to give the reader just enough so that they don't need to ask for more because they feel as if they have closure at the end. Yet this book is so easily understandable and heartfelt that the reader can't help but say, "Give me more! Tell me more about this elderly man that has so much wisdom to offer."
Each chapter, aside from flashbacks, is called "The (any number of one through fourteen) Tuesday" and then it goes on to explain the topic that will be discussed that day. Some topics that they discuss in the book are the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, emotions, the fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, our culture, and forgiveness. The book ends by painting a picture in the readers mind. This is the same picture that was painted in the beginning almost word for word.
Albom writes: "The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week, in his home, by a window in his study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink flowers. The class met on Tuesdays. No books were required. The subject was the meaning of life. It was taught from experience.
"The teaching goes on."
There couldn't have been a better way for Albom to close the book. This ending tells people that everyone can learn how to live their lives to the fullest right up until the end. Morrie was learning new things about life and about himself all the way until the day he died. We are just lucky enough to get to hear what he learned.
Readers may be asking, "So what is life's greatest lesson?" Albom says, "...if Professor Morrie Schwartz taught me anything at all, it was this: there is no such thing as "too late" in life." He also learned that "Death ends a life, not a relationship" so even after Morrie left this world, he would live on in the hearts of everyone he met, and in the readers of this book who felt as if they knew Morrie personally after reading the book.
This well-organized chronicle of the last fourteen weeks Morrie Schwartz and Mitch Albom spent together, helps make a book of great clarity and wisdom. The book is inspirational and sensitive and the life lessons learned in the book aren't easily forgotten. This book is what the two men refer to as the final thesis of the class; the class that met once a week on Tuesdays. This story is tragic, but well worth reading. The excellence of the book can't be doubted when it has been embraced by readers around the world, being published in nineteen countries and in sixteen different languages. Albom gives a tribute to a remarkable teacher in Tuesdays With Morrie. If you want to learn the meaning of life, then this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Doing what makes you happy
Review: This was a short and sweet read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book even though I had seen the movie (which was also excellent). No, this isn't going to win the Pulitzer Prize, but it will warm your heart and start you thinking about what your life means, where you've been, and where you're going. Some of the ideas presented in this book may be rolling around in your head already--volunteering, activism in the community, doing what really makes you happy--and some may not. Read it anyway for it is inspirational and moving.

Also recommended: BARK OF THE DOGWOOD by Jackson McCrae and DECEPTION POINT

Rating:
Summary: Have A Tissue Ready
Review: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is beautifully written. It is also an easily read and understandable. The fact that it's a true story makes it even more touching. So have some tissue ready :) . Morrie was a real person. He helped so many people during his life, and now, because of Mitch, he will touch many more after death. I strongly recommend reading this book if you are afraid of death.

There is also another book here on Amazon I have found that I highly recommend on life after death, or between death that has given me a lot to think about. It is called The book of Thomas by Daniel Aber and Gabreael. In their book everything from the suicide, the different levels of heaven, reincarnation, and so on is covered also in an easily read format

Rating:
Summary: Morrie A Wonderful Mentor We All Wish We'd Known
Review: TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is a wonderful book and Morrie is the kind of Mentor we all wish we'd had. A quick read, it's lessons are long lasting and you'll find yourself thinking about Morrie long after you put down this jewel and pass it on to another lucky reader.

Rating:
Summary: What will you lose? What will you keep?
Review: What can I say about this book that hasn't been said before? After reading Albom's Five People You Meet in Heaven a friend gave me his Tuesday's With Morrie. It was truly life-changing! When experiencing suffering firsthand or seeing a loved one suffer we begin to learn lessons that would otherwise go unlearned i.e. that life is so much more than food, clothing, appearance, sex, entertainment, sports, health, intelligence, money, houses, cars, degrees, jobs, status, etc. Most, if not all of these supposed 'necessities', as Albom reiterates are nothing more than pure distractions like Solomon once said 'All is vanity' (Eccl. 1:2). This obsession with hedonism and materialism in our Western world never has and never will bring satisfaction. It will only steal and waste our valuable time like waves tossing with every wind that could be better spent with loved ones and more importantly with God. Jesus once said 'It is more blessed to give than to receive' (Acts 20:35) and Morrie declares likewise. Give what you can to others of yourself and time, to your spouse, children, family, friends, church, community etc. for indeed a man's no fool who gives what he can never keep to gain what he can never lose! I've learned from this book that life is not about getting all one can out of others, far from it! Life is about giving one's all for others. And I guess that unless we learn some of the valuable lessons Morrie emphasised in his last days and begin to really live life as He meant it to be lived and not misuse or abuse it or take it for granted it may require God to give us all a good shaking up.

Rating:
Summary: Life's Greatest Lessons
Review: When reading this instant classic book called Tuesdays With Morrie written by Mitch Albom, you learn about life's greatest lessons during a professor's last class. In March of 1995, Mitch, a successful newspaper sports writer is watching TV when he hears his old professors name (Morrie Schwartz) mentioned on the nightly news show Nightline. The show was about how Morrie was dealing with his diagnosis of the fatal disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The next thing you know, Mitch is driving into his old professor's driveway, about to see him for the first time since Mitch's graduation from Brandeis University in Massachusetts in 1979 when he promised they would keep in touch. Their reorientation goes well and after a few visits, Mitch sees signs of death in Morrie and is scared by this. Mitch's answer to this problem is to tape record all their visits so Morrie can teach him one last lesson in life. After fourteen Tuesdays visits between Morrie and his old student Mitch where they discuss many of life's most troubling topics, and also Morrie is featured in two more Nightline appearances, Morrie Schwartz dies on Saturday morning in his home due to his disease.
I think everyone needs to read this excellent book. It makes the reader realize that it's not too late to become a better person. Also, death must be accepted or you aren't truly living. There are so many more great lessons to learn from this tremendous book, even though, at times it can be slow. If you want to read a great book, with inspirational power, read Tuesdays With Morrie.

Rating:
Summary: We Should all Have a Few Tuesdays With Morrie
Review: While I don't necessarily agree with everything (i.e. the philosophy of) espoused in this book, I have, nonetheless, gleaned many lessens about life from its pages. This book is an emotional and intellectual ride with Morris Schwartz (late Professor of Sociology at Brandeis University). This is a record, of sorts, about his last few months of life, his thoughts about life and certain things in life such as marriage, regrets, the perfect day, money, love, forgiveness, etc.

Mitch Albom has a great writing style, simple but yet detailed, descriptive and emotive. There is much wisdom in these pages, much emotion, much love, much grief, much warmth, much compassion, much courage, much experience, much mentoring, much teaching, and the list could go on. I find it interesting that when I see famous people in interviews and they are asked to reveal who has had the most influence in their lives up to that point, most make mention of a school teacher. Morrie was such a person - one who had much influence. This book will move you to tears and cause you to laugh. It is quite easy to read and you could probably finish it in about an hour or so, but in that hour your life will be changed in one way or another having read these pages.