There are many books that were quite opening to me because I am an avid reader, but if I have to choose one from the many collections of books that I read, I believe that would be The Five People You Meet in Heaven, written by Mitch Albom. It was quite recent and made me ponder the ultimate question about fate and who I think I would end up meeting if I were to die. This book made me think about how life is full of surprises, and in the population of approximately eight billion people in the world, it makes you wonder what kind of people come across in your path. It makes you also wonder what kind of influence, big or small, you have or have had on the people you met.
So let us talk about the author of this fantastic book, Mitch Albom. He is an American author, journalist, and musician. He is known for his creative writings and themes. This inspirational author was born in the year 1958 in New Jersey, USA, and he achieved fame when he wrote all sorts of narratives that explored different dimensions. He attended school in Southern New Jersey and then transferred to the University of Brandeis.
Interestingly, he majored in Sociology, and maybe this kind of education had led him to think about society and its people. He also spent many years working in nightclubs because his ultimate dream was to become a musician. This made me wonder about the kind of people he met throughout his life that made him write such an inspirational story.
While he was pursuing his passion for music, he started developing his love for Journalism. He started chasing all sorts of dreams and aspirations because he was and still is very young. He had all sorts of experiences that allowed him to get admitted into Columbia University. At Columbia University, he earned a degree in journalism and pursued his Master of Business Administration. He not only had dreams for music and writing, but he also developed a deep relationship with his professor, which he would meet every Tuesday.
Whenever he met his professor, they would talk about all sorts of topics, including life and death. And this is where his idea for the book came from.
Although this is just a minor biographical description of the author Mitch Albom, I thought I should include him in one of the most influential people in my life. After reading the book, I started questioning my relationships and my position in my life. I am still very young and recently started attending a university in the United States, majoring in International Studies. One of the reasons I decided to move from South Korea to the United States was to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures. During my early life, I lived in South Korea, and I was used to the course of a typical Korean student.
Yet, after graduating from high school, I started questioning my dreams and aspirations and what kind of contribution I wanted to make in the world.
One of the most inspiring quotes that I wrote down after reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven was, “all parents damage their children. It cannot be helped. Youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. Some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair.” In the beginning, I took this quite at the core of my heart.
But I did not want to think of this quote as purely negative. I think that in some way or another, it is the parent’s job to partially prepare their kids for the real world. They brought their children to live, and it is their choice how much they would like to prepare them for the world. The world is not only full of positive and innocent people. The world can also be cruel and savage. And for me, this quote represents the hard work and sacrifice those parents have to go through in order to prepare their kids for what is to come in the future.
Another quote that I thought was quite inspiring was, “learn this from me. Holding anger is poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade.
And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.” This quote was very eye-opening because I am also trying my best to let go of anger and forgive people and the circumstances. I know that it is hard to let go of the anger and the past, and people tend to blame their negative circumstances on external factors, but it helps no one, and not even yourself, to hold a grudge so deep. In the end, you poison yourself with so much anger.
This book helped me think about my life, the life of the author, and also the lives of others. It is amazing how many people are born differently and uniquely and how each of us encounters different opportunities and takes down different paths. This is the reason that I am so thankful for coming across this book and for having researched the author. I hope that many people can read this book and learn about life and the impact that they make on themselves and on others.
