So a friend recommended to check out “The five people you meet in heaven” and I’m glad she did!! Being a fiction fan, I can never make myself read about life lessons as written by most authors.. feels like a dry read though the lessons are good!! But Mitch Albom weaves it with a story plot which makes the read easy and intriguing!!
Coming back to the book, spoiler alert for the ones interested to read the book, it is the story of a man named Eddie and his encounter with Heaven!! Written beautifully and through alternates of different timelines, it teaches many wonderful lessons about life, especially the reminder of the fact that life is fleeting and we must live each day without remorse and regret!! Also, rightly said, it’s not that “we live only once!! We die only once, we live each moment, so make them count”!!
So as the title speaks, since the story revolves around people you meet in heaven, it starts with the backdrop about Eddie and builds up to hud death..
So as per the story, Eddie wakes up in heaven and is informed that he will be meeting five people on his journey to the eternal life.. the first person he meets is a person he’s met in his childhood but doesn’t really know him.. to cut the story short, he teaches Eddie the valuable lesson that our actions cause a ripple effect, and our actions impact many other lives in ways beyond our comprehension!!
The second person he encounters is his Captain from his time in the military.. Although the captain discloses him a truth that fills him with angst, he also learns a valuable lesson from him that many of the things we enjoy are due to the sacrifices of others and we don’t even realise it!!
The third person that he encounters is a stranger!! She’s the teacher that guides him to the reality that every villain has some redemption arc.. also, keeping grudges does no good!! We spend our whole life hating someone!! It’s lighter on ourselves to let go of the grudge, it just overweighs ourselves!! He hated someone his whole life but the third person helped him see the unseen side of the person which helped him have a different perspective and help him let go of the grudge!!
The fourth person is his beloved, she reminded him that love is still present whether or not they’re physically around!! When you genuinely love someone, the feeling never dies!!
The fifth person was the reason of guilt for all his life, she reminded him that he’s already lived his entire life redeeming himself for his mistake!! We generally beat ourselves with guilt, but more often than not, we’ve carried that guilt far longer than we need to!! And it’s never too late to mend ways n redeem yourself of your mistakes!! We need to learn to forgive ourselves, that’s the most challenging task we generally face!
A short 200 pages book which is barely a half day read and one that ensures you don’t put it down until you’ve completed it!! Worth the read, worth the reminders!! Hopefully some bibliophile finds the review intriguing enough to pick the book too!!
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