The Five People You Meet In Heaven - If Only, It Was Really Like This...

Death.

It's scary. The whole pre, during, and after of it is a mystery but more importantly, it's a certainty.

What's it like to know that you're going to die? Sure, we all know that we're going to die someday, but what happens when that someday is right in front of us? If you manage to escape death for many years, do you get to a certain point where you just sit around, expecting it?

What is it like to experience death? I often wonder, will I be in a lot of pain? Will the people I love be around? And if they are, will I do and say things that will make them forget how much I love them? Will the end confuse their memories?

What happens to me once I die? I think to myself, I can handle the pain. I will hate not being with the people I love however, I could probably move past that. But what happens to me? Does my physical body becoming one with the ground finalize my contribution to whatever this is - whatever I am a part of?

Is there an after life? I don't expect a place with happy, fluffy clouds and bon-bons. But, is there something after the life that I'm currently familiar with?

Did any of this mean...anything? So often, I come home from work upset, frustrated, and numb. Is the struggle for work, relationships - any of it - does it mean anything? Is this the life I was meant to lead?

I get all of this stuff going on in my head - it's no wonder that I am the mess I am :). But on the serious side, many of you know that I have several issues with organized religion. And I can't turn to that for any of the answers I'm looking for. At least, not yet. My alternatives for seeking out those answers include music, movies, and books. Those three areas somehow, allow me to absorb possibilities that otherwise, I would never give a second look to.

In spite of the demons that haunt me, I am a very spiritual person. I believe - for reasons unknown - that things happen for a reason. I believe in a cause and effect. I believe in what goes around, comes around. And music, movies, and books that incorporate these beliefs into their space, usually catch my attention.

Last Winter, I was going through some very difficult, personal issues and I latched upon a book - Tuesdays With Morrie by author Mitch Albom. If you haven't read this book, really - you don't know what you're missing. It's one of those books that can change your life forever - if you choose it to.

When I saw that Mitch Albom had released another book - this book - I didn't think twice about purchasing it. And here's the sad thing people. I bought both the hardcover version and the audio version. You're tsk tsking, aren't you?! I know...I'm pathetic. Tell you what I'm going to do...Even though this area of epinions is for the hardcover version, I'm going to cover both versions in this one review. Consider it your two for the price of one :).

The story starts at The End. 83 year old Eddie, a maintenance worker at the Ruby Pier Amusement Park, is moments away from his death. It also happens to be his birthday but he hasn't celebrated his birthday in years. Not since the death of his wife, Margaurite. Of course he doesn't know that he is hours away from dying and that explains why he goes about his day in the same routine he has carried out for years.

At 83, Eddie has to get around with a cane. His knee was torn up badly back in the war and since that time, he's not been able to walk around without the pain accompanying him. Working maintenance was never his dream however, it's a job and it pays the bills.

How does Eddie die? One of the amusement park rides malfunction. While his young team is trying to fix up the situation, one of their decisions causes the cars on the ride to fall to the ground. Instinctively, Eddie runs to a little girl, in the path of the falling debris. He must save her.

Fade to black.

When Eddie awakens, he finds himself in a place of his past - Ruby Pier, but Ruby Pier from his childhood. There, he meets up with someone he doesn't initially recognize. He wonders, Where am I? Am I In Heaven? And most importantly, Who Is This Man Before Me?

The man sitting in front of him explains, "there are five people you meet in heaven. Each was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth."

Eddie begins a journey of visiting his past, trying to understand how the five people and the particular surroundings have anything to do with his life or his death.

And that's all I'm going to tell you about the details of this parable because I don't want to ruin the best parts for you.

What you should know though is that like Tuesdays With Morrie, The Five People You Meet In Heaven has the power of altering your life forever. Trust me on this one.

I know I'm not the only one that lays awake at night and ponders some of those rhetorical type questions. Why Am I Here?

The magic to Mitch Albom's approach is that he touches upon something that we all think about - What happens after we die? No one has definitively been able to answer the question and what Albom has done is to take the comforting reply to that question (we go to heaven), and add A Christmas Carol story-twist to it. Heaven isn't necessarily filled with rolling hills and bon-bons. It's about making sense out of your life and bringing it to its natural closure.

And in many ways, Albom's way of dealing with death is quite comforting for me. I've always had a fear about dying. At one time in my life, it was about the act of dying. Would I be in a lot of pain? Would I be by myself? Would I die of natural causes? Would something horrible happen to me? Then, it proceeded to this helpless feeling of never being able to be again. I couldn't imagine not being. Not touching. Feeling. Hugging. Kissing. Smelling. Death - before, during, and after - is scary. Albom's approach isn't totally unique but it is theraputic. He has a way of making sense of it all.

I want to get into some specifics about the hardcover version. The book is very short - only 198 pages. While you might be tempted to speed through it...please don't. Savor it. Take it in parts. Read it slowly. The words will glide over your eyes naturally. It's going to be one of those books that you read over and over again. I'm telling you, when you read the words, Today is Eddie's Birthday your heart will speed up, your mind will become extra sharp, and you will find yourself looking for every possible meaning in the words that are spit out in print.

Although I really like the hardcover book, the audio version is more spectacular. There's something about hearing someone else tell a story. It's comforting in a kindergarten type of way. I would recommend not listening to it though, when you have a meeting first thing in the morning. Yes, I made this mistake. There were buckets of tears. I popped it in, listening to it on the way to work and by the time I got there (40 minutes later), the makeup I had on was completely smeared and messy. And dang, I don't usually wear too much makeup however, it was one of those kinds of meetings.

Actor Erik Singer was able to distinguish all of the voices in a non-distracting way. Although I never thought I had anything in common with a gruff, old man of 83, there was some real pain I was feeling, right along with Eddie.

There's also a narrative at the beginning of the tape by the author, explaining (briefly), how he came up with The Five People You Meet In Heaven and the fact that he's thrilled that his story has been released on audio so quickly. Me too!

Believe it or not, this is Mitch Albom's first work of fiction. Tuesdays With Morrie was based upon his real life relationship with a teacher and his regular day job is as a nationally syndicated sportswriter for The Detroit Free Press. When you read either this book or Tuesday's With Morrie, I know his down to earth style and simple approach might surprise you. I mean - a sports writer?! What's THAT about???

The good news is that Mitch's experience with this book has convinced him that writing fiction is where he wants his life to go. This thrills me to pieces and I look forward to reading - and most importantly - feeling, the ideas that he brings to life through the every day characters that exist in his imagination.

Hardcover: 198 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Press
1st edition (September 23, 2003)
ISBN: 0786868716

Audio CD
Publisher: Hyperion Audiobooks
Unabridged edition (September 23, 2003)
ISBN: 1401397522