Published
in 1997, written by Mitch Albom, with the leadership and guidance of
his college professor, Morrie Schwartz, this under 200 page volume is
full of simple answers to existential questions regarding the importance
of human existence.
In 1979, Mitch graduated from Brandeis
University in Waltham, Massachusetts. During his time at Brandeis, he
managed to cross the path of not only a Doctor of Sociology, a prominent
college professor and a published author, but a friend, a guide and a
man that Mitch lovingly referred to as “Coach.”
Nearing 16 years
later, after watching a Nightline report by Ted Koppel, Mitch
discovered that his longtime guide, Morrie, was suffering from ALS,
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Mitch
had spent his life working in media, specifically as an acclaimed sports
columnist. Mitch has been voted America’s #1 Sports Columnist ten times
by The Associated Press Sports Editors.
With a successful yet
spiritually unrewarding career, Mitch set out to reunite with his
longtime friend and “Coach.”
Unbeknownst to Mitch, this visit was to be
his last thesis.
He met every Tuesday with Morrie, watching his disease progress, tape recording their basic conversations about life.
This “thesis” eventually became a memoir, Tuesdays with Morrie.
This
volume touched me deeply. The ideals and conversations documented by
Mitch exhibit the inherent basic needs that must be met for happiness
for spirits existing in a human shell.
Mitch’s writing is not complex,
it is precise and on the mark, exhibiting exactly what he meant to
portray: a conversation with a man he admired facing life and death,
simultaneous.
Books such as Tuesdays with Morrie prove that
the human condition is a fleeting one and that every moment must be
savored, admired, in the here and now, not later.
I learned that
everything I strive to complete really does not matter at this precise
moment. What truly matters is that my limbs work, I am able to think, speak and write, that I practice compassion and
kindness to the best of my ability and must continue to do so.
Most importantly, that I am able to love and forgive myself and others for simply being human.
In the words of Morrie himself:
“The
most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to
let it come in. Let it come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think
if we let it in we’ll become too soft. But a wise man named Levin said
it right. He said, “Love is the only rational act.”
Everyone must read this book. It is one full of aphorisms of wisdom. It is a volume filled with unconditional love.
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