Photo courtesy of Penguin Random House.

In modern society, people are so wrapped up around their life that they forget to make their life fulfilling. People are so busy trying to move forward that they forget to slow down and appreciate what they have. Reading this book will change your perspective on life and of yourself.

“Tuesdays with Morrie”, published in 1997 by Mitch Albom, is truly a one-of-a-kind book. It tells the story of Mitch Albom and his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz. Throughout Mitch’s college years, he becomes close to Morrie. Morrie guides Mitch through life and encourages him to follow his dreams. After Mitch graduates, they slowly drift apart. As Mitch grew up and got a job, he slowly forgot all of the lessons Morrie taught him and never achieved what he dreamt of. One night, Mitch is flipping through channels and hears Morrie’s name on the television. 

After much internal debate, Mitch finds Morrie and goes to visit him, where he finds out that Morrie has ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease with no cure. After the first meeting with Morrie, Mitch continues to come back and see him every week – every Tuesday to be specific. As Morrie slowly fades away, he teaches Mitch one last lesson about life. 

The lessons consisted of the following: death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness, and a meaningful life. Throughout the course of the book, Morrie discusses what each of these topics mean, and how each one of them is a basic necessity of life, equally as important as breathing. 

Reading this book gave me a new perspective on life. How could someone that is slowly dying have so much life to them? And how could I feel so connected to a book, how could I feel so connected to someone I never met? 

This book is incredibly well-written. The way Mitch Albom writes about Morrie truly made me emotional. He conveys the story of their time together, but also shares the story of Morrie’s life, and all of the hardships he has been through. When he wrote about pieces of their conversations, it made me feel as if I was with them at that moment. When he talks about Morrie, I feel obligated to meet him. How did I not get the chance to talk to someone so special? 

Mitch Albom did an amazing job with this book. Reading this book made me smile, made me laugh, made me sad, and brought tears to my eyes. This book has changed my view of my everyday life, as well as my view of the world.