Review: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch Albom
As a college student, Mitch Albom grew close to one of his professors, a man named Morrie Schwartz. Although he promises to keep in touch at graduation, Albom doesn't reconnect with his teacher until many years later, when he catches sight of him one evening while flipping channels on his TV. Albom realizes Schwartz is dying, and finally calls him. He begins to visit Schwartz weekly, on Tuesdays, crafting a final thesis on how to live a good life. In this warm memoir, Albom presents the lessons he learned in the final months of the life of Morrie Schwartz.
Schwartz is learning how to die, and through his growing awareness teaching Albom how to live. This is a feel-good book full of simple observations about life. Love one another. Don't get caught up in the rat race. Spend time on crafting relationships, not collecting things. None of these lessons is revolutionary or new, but great pains are taken to distill the ideas into simple words and easy to understand paragraphs. Freed from ties to a particular religion or system of beliefs, the lessons are universal.
I guess I'm not a very sentimental person. I know that Morrie Schwartz was a wise man, and the words Albom recorded are full of great wisdom. But inspirational, feel-good books don't interest me, and Schwartz's sentiments echo what I hear in church or read in books on Christian living. Indeed, the book is so brief that he is unable to go into any sort of depth on each topic, so actually acting on his suggestions will require greater meditation or seeking out another book.
This is one of those books that I think will live on for years as a graduation gift, the sort of reliable tome like The Giving Tree and Oh, the Places You'll Go! one pulls out when a relative finishes high school and a gift must be given. You read it, you feel good, you move on.
3 out of 5 stars
To read more about Tuesdays with Morrie, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2012: Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex
2011: Taking a break until October 18th
2010: Essay: Confessions of a Used-Book Salesman
2009: Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
2008: Author Interview: Kate Hahn (Forgotten Fashion)
by Mitch Albom
As a college student, Mitch Albom grew close to one of his professors, a man named Morrie Schwartz. Although he promises to keep in touch at graduation, Albom doesn't reconnect with his teacher until many years later, when he catches sight of him one evening while flipping channels on his TV. Albom realizes Schwartz is dying, and finally calls him. He begins to visit Schwartz weekly, on Tuesdays, crafting a final thesis on how to live a good life. In this warm memoir, Albom presents the lessons he learned in the final months of the life of Morrie Schwartz.
Schwartz is learning how to die, and through his growing awareness teaching Albom how to live. This is a feel-good book full of simple observations about life. Love one another. Don't get caught up in the rat race. Spend time on crafting relationships, not collecting things. None of these lessons is revolutionary or new, but great pains are taken to distill the ideas into simple words and easy to understand paragraphs. Freed from ties to a particular religion or system of beliefs, the lessons are universal.
I guess I'm not a very sentimental person. I know that Morrie Schwartz was a wise man, and the words Albom recorded are full of great wisdom. But inspirational, feel-good books don't interest me, and Schwartz's sentiments echo what I hear in church or read in books on Christian living. Indeed, the book is so brief that he is unable to go into any sort of depth on each topic, so actually acting on his suggestions will require greater meditation or seeking out another book.
This is one of those books that I think will live on for years as a graduation gift, the sort of reliable tome like The Giving Tree and Oh, the Places You'll Go! one pulls out when a relative finishes high school and a gift must be given. You read it, you feel good, you move on.
3 out of 5 stars
To read more about Tuesdays with Morrie, buy it or add it to your wishlist click here.
Peeking into the archives...today in:
2012: Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex
2011: Taking a break until October 18th
2010: Essay: Confessions of a Used-Book Salesman
2009: Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
2008: Author Interview: Kate Hahn (Forgotten Fashion)