Tuesday's with Morrie Book Review

E.Franks

Mitch Alboms’ Tuesdays with Morrie is a deeply emotional, beautiful story of hope and acceptance. Published by Doubleday in 1997, it has sold over 20 million copies, making it one of the top-selling memoirs of all time. Morrie, a professor forced into retirement due to the progression of his ALS. Mitch, his old student who is now a journalist, comes back into Morrie's life 1 more time. Tuesday's with Morrie is a truly life-changing novel that will shift your

perspective on the ups and downs of the world. 

Morrie Schwartz was a professor of sociology at Brandeis University who impacted many lives during his years of teaching. In 1994, he was diagnosed with ALS, a devastating condition that affects how nerve cells communicate with the brain. It often starts with muscle weakness but ends with complete respiratory failure. His condition progressed rather quickly, forcing him to retire shortly after his diagnosis. Even with losing the job that he adored, he remained positive; he knew he wanted to share his knowledge with whoever would listen. A friend of his was so inspired by him that she contacted a Boston newspaper. His segment made it onto national television, so when Mitch was scrolling through TV channels, and his old professor appeared, he was shocked. He knew he needed to go see him. Morrie decided to teach 1 last class on life's greatest lessons, with Mitch as the only student. Additionally, there were no grades, no books, only a final project; to write together all he learned from their weekly Tuesday class; that project is how this book came to be.

Mitch Albom dreamed of becoming a musician, but greed took over him. He settled to become a journalist, putting his wishes aside for money. But the money he earned couldn't make up for the shambles his family was in. Mitch's uncle slowly and painfully died from pancreatic cancer, instilling a horrible fear into Mitch's mind. For years, he lived in fear that he would die from the same cancer that took his favorite uncle. The fear wasn't mythical, except it came for his younger brother, Peter. When Peter learned he had this disease, he moved to Spain, and he cut off all contact with his family. He eventually went into remission, but refused family connections. 

On the other hand, Morrie Schwartz had everything but an easy life. At a very young age, his mother died, and Morrie found out the news first, making him responsible for telling his family. He was never close to his father; he was never shown affection, and he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was introduced to the woman who would become his stepmother; she made up for everything he missed out on with his father. For the first time, he had a parent. She held them to high standards despite their rough situations, tucked them into bed at night, and loved them. When Morrie was 30, his father was killed in a robbery, and he was called to identify the body. Seeing his father dead, he knew he needed to live life more, because you never know your last day. 

Morrie is portrayed as a loving and forgiving person, which is the focus of the story. The first example of this was found on page 52, where it states, “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and let it come in.” At the surface, this may seem obvious. We were brought into this world to love, to love our world, to love others, and to love ourselves. The most automatic human things are the ones we tend to overlook in times of trouble. Morrie talked about his time before becoming a professor. He worked in a mental hospital, and he found that these people just needed love. Their lives became hard, causing those automatic human things we do to no longer be automatic. Love went missing, leaving life in darkness. Morrie explained how most of the workers treated the patients harshly, but Morrie sat with them and showed them that love was still attainable. For many, this pivoted the way they saw the world and helped them find a way of hopeful living; for they let love in. This is beautifully illustrated again when Mitch questions how Morrie has remained so positive during this seemingly impossible time. “Without love, we are birds with broken wings.” He continues to explain that if he weren't surrounded by the family who cared for him so immensely, he would rot in loneliness. He uses the metaphor as a way of explaining the way he wouldn't be able to function, to live, breathe, or handle the knowledge of his slow and painful death, just like a bird with broken wings. In the final chapters of the book, they discuss the process of love over time. They discuss a question we have all been wondering: “Are you worried about being forgotten?” Morrie gently spoke, “Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.” Morrie's mission throughout life was to teach what he knew to others, and through that, he learned that he had an impact on people. Everything you do is learned, every word that runs through your brain was learned somewhere, every saying you speak was learned somewhere. Morrie knew that even if he, as a person, was not remembered, his words and lessons would be, and that's all he cared about. Despite the dozens of lessons we can take from this story, 1 can be found everywhere: “love each other or perish.” Without love, we are nothing. 

Tuesday's with Morrie was a book that has taken many by surprise. This is the type of book that can change your entire perspective on things and, if you let it, can even change your life.