“Every ending is also a beginning.” -Mitch Albom
Now I know, what you may be thinking, “if I’m not exactly religious, why would I want to read a book about religion?” However, while Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven contains references to Heaven, it is much more so about telling the story of beginnings, endings, and human connection, nor is its depiction of Heaven archetypal. The story begins simply: with an end. Eddie, a maintenance worker at a local amusement park, conducts his routine checks of all the rides. With every ride operating safely, he continues his day by amusing the children, but, unbeknownst to him, a series of small but connected events lead to a ride’s failure. Eddie rushes to Freddie’s Free Fall where he finds a snapped cable, a dangling cart at 40 feet, and a little girl in a pink t-shirt beneath it. Knowing the cart is going to drop free of all ties to the machine, Eddie lunges for the little girl, and everything goes dark. In Heaven, Eddie relives parts of his life through five people, and each of these five people have a lesson for him. Partly because of his time in as a soldier and his discontent with his career, Eddie spent most of his time on Earth feeling as if he had no purpose. His five people show him otherwise. Some of the people Eddie knows, and others he had never met, even though he impacted their lives so greatly.
The lessons go as follows:
1. Everything happens for a reason. All lives and events are connected; nothing is a coincidence.
2. Sacrifices are a part of life, whether monotonous or life-changing.
3. In order to live at peace, you must release anger and forgive those who have hurt you. Every story has multiple perspectives.
4. Love comes in different forms and is all-powerful. Lost love is capable of transposing even the largest distances.
5. No one is on Earth purposelessly. Everyone lives for a reason, just as some die for a reason. Some die so others can live. Where you stand is a result of your actions and the actions of those who have affected you, even if you didn’t even know them.
The lessons, though shown through different people in the sequel, remain the same throughout the series. The other unique aspects of Albom’s portrayal of Heaven are that God is rarely, if at all, mentioned, and each Heaven is different. Each person chooses their own Heaven, and Eddie travels through his 5 people’s Heaven before reaching his own.
Albom’s conversational tone and attention to detail are able to vividly paint this interconnected world. His plot will also manage to tear your heart out and gently put it back together. Now, I’m not asking you to buy into all this, and neither does Mitch Albom, but I am asking you to try picking it up, reading it, and see how you feel. It might not impact your life, but it definitely changed mine.
If you like The Five People You Meet In Heaven, check out the sequel The Next Person You Meet In Heaven, which follows the life of Annie, the little girl standing under Freddie’s Free Fall.