The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Mitch Albom

12/20/2006

Eddie is 83 years old when this book opens. It's his birthday. He goes to work like he has all his adult life to his job as head of maintenance at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park. When one of the rides breaks, he jumps to push a young girl out of the path of the falling car. He gets killed not knowing if he was able to rescue her or if they both died.

Now, in Heaven, a blue man approaches him. Eddie doesn't remember the man until reminded. This man had been in the freak show at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park when Eddie was a kid. Eddie's father had also worked at the park, so Eddie knew the place all his life. The Blue Man then starts talking about an incident that happened when Eddie was 8 or so. Eddie learns that before he is done he will speak with 4 more people and see his own life differently than he himself had while alive.

Do you ever wonder if your own life is important? Do you think that you haven't really made a difference in the world? Mitch Albom uses The Five People You Meet in Heaven to show that everyone is important and has an impact on the people around him or her. Things that mean nothing to me (or you) may affect other people's lives without me being aware of what has really happened.

For such a small book this one packs a lot into it. Albom's drawn picture of heaven in this novel doesn't fit my perception of heaven. But I can identify with the need to know what my life was all about. Eddie gets to review his life, find forgiveness, find redemption, and find what type of hero he was. This book brought me to tears to the point I had to stop reading enough for my eyes to clear up. This book was written succinctly and powerfully.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven can be found at .