We all have individuals in our lives who serve as beacons of guidance and support during times of crisis. These mentors, who may be friends, relatives, teachers, or family members, share their experiences and impart invaluable lessons and skills that stay with us. However, as we navigate our way out of adversity and embark on our desired paths, we sometimes overlook these selfless individuals as we become increasingly consumed by our pursuits of career advancement, financial stability, and new relationships. This book tells the story of one such journey.
Tuesdays With Morrie is a 1997 memoir by American author Mitch Albom. Originally published in 1997, the book comprises 192 pages. This short book consists of some of the greatest lessons of life, teaching us about the little yet very important things that we usually tend to ignore. The book highlights these lessons via the story of the writer Mitch Albom and his professor Morrie Schwartz, who is 77 years old.
Mitch has become a successful sports journalist and has long forgotten about his mentor, Professor Morrie Schwartz. One night, Mitch learns about Morrie’s terminal illness; he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). (Formerly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS is a neurological disorder that affects motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing). Mitch becomes worried about his kind professor and starts thinking about all those beautiful lectures, meetings, and discussions with Morrie. Though they are far away from each other, he soon gets a ticket and takes a flight to visit Morrie.
Upon seeing him, he realizes how old and weak Morrie has become. Even in college, Mitch and Morrie had met routinely on Tuesdays, mostly to discuss Mitch’s thesis, which Mitch says he wrote at Morrie’s suggestion. Now, at the end of Morrie’s life, they again decide to start meeting every Tuesday. They say, “We’re Tuesday people!” Mitch flies from distant regions every Tuesday and talks to his friendly professor.
Even during his extremely weak health conditions, Morrie discusses different questions and concepts, along with a critical view of the way society and its people behave. They discuss topics such as embracing vulnerability, living with purpose, acceptance of death, rejecting cultural norms of success, the art of listening, detachment from materialism, giving is living, and embracing change. Morrie focuses on making and maintaining authentic relationships with each other and choosing to have rich experiences of life, rather than choosing to have material things only.
One new concept that I came across is that of a “Living Funeral.” Morrie thinks it would be a good idea if, before you pass away, everyone says everything they have to say about you. Thus, he decides to host his own “living funeral” and invites people to come over to pay their respects ahead of his death. One Sunday afternoon, Morrie’s house becomes the setting of this “living funeral,” where friends and family speak about Morrie. In this way, Morrie shows us the importance of cherishing our loved ones while we still have the chance.
Let me share Mitch and Morrie’s discussion about forgiveness:

“It’s not just other people we need to forgive, Mitch,” he finally whispered. “We need to forgive ourselves… For all the things we didn’t do. All the things we should have done. You can’t get stuck on regrets of what should have happened. That doesn’t help you when you get to where I am.”

“I always wished I had done more with my work; I wished I had written more books. I used to beat myself up over it. Now I see that never did any good. Make peace. You need to make peace with yourself and everyone around you… Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Don’t wait, Mitch. Not everyone gets the time I’m getting. Not everyone is as lucky.”

Finally, on November 4, 1995, Morrie Schwartz stops breathing. After Morrie’s death and his final lessons, Mitch calls his younger brother Peter, who is suffering from pancreatic cancer, and flies to various European cities seeking treatment. He tells him he loves him:

“We had a long talk. I told him I respected his distance, and that all I wanted was to be in touch—in the present, not just the past—to hold him in my life as much as he could let me.”

“‘YOU’RE MY ONLY BROTHER,’ I said. ‘I DON’T WANT TO LOSE YOU. I LOVE YOU.’ I had never said such a thing to him before.”

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