Bethany reviews a novel which she recently re-read, exploring people the protagonist meets in heaven after an accident occurs…
This week, I wanted to write a review of my all-time favourite book: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. I read this book for the first time years ago when I was about 16, and I remember running around school telling all my friends that they needed to read it too. Now that I’ve recently re-read it, I needed to run around and tell you guys!
The novel follows the life and death of Eddie who is killed whilst working as a ride mechanic in an amusement park. He is sent to heaven and meets five people who all have their own significant story and place in Eddie’s life.
I won’t give spoilers, but as a general overview, the first person that Eddie meets teaches him about the impact that we have on other people’s lives without us even noticing. The second teaches Eddie the importance of sacrifice, informing him of a fact about his old-time friend which he had never realised. Thirdly, Eddie learns an importance lesson of forgiveness whilst learning the history behind the amusement park which he adored so much. The book then moves to reunite Eddie with his late wife, Marguerite, which I personally found to be the most emotional part of the story! Finally, Eddie meets a little girl named Tala as he again learns the unknown consequences of his previous actions.
The story teaches several lessons within it, but the overarching one being that everybody in the life is connected, many in ways that we don’t even realise. If you like philosophical reads, this one’s for you. It mirrors famous philosophies and makes you sit and reflect on your own impact on others’ lives. Personally, that’s my favourite kind of book – one that transcends the pages to encourage you to self-reflect and apply the ideas to yourself and your own life. The themes such as forgiveness and sacrifice apply to us all, so it’s great food for the soul to understand them in application and carry them with you thereon.