Review: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom (From Watford Observer)

Review: The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom

10:54am Thursday 3rd December 2009 in Rickmansworth News

Words by Jo Bland, Year 13

Eddie is a grizzled war veteran who feels trapped in the work of his father before him, fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. Then he dies in a tragic accident, trying to save a little girl from a falling cart.

He wakes up in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a lush Garden of Eden, but a place where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who were a part of it. These people may have been loved ones or distant strangers yet each of them changed your path forever.

As the story builds to its stunning conclusion, Eddie desperately seeks redemption in the still-unknown last act of his life. Was he a heroic success or a devastating failure? The answer is as magical and inspirational as a glimpse of heaven itself.

When I first looked at The Five People You Meet in Heaven, I thought it would be upsetting.

However, I found it to be an enchanting and beautifully written exploration of a mystery only heaven can unfold.

Albom offers reassurance about the afterlife; whether you believe in an afterlife or not it makes death more of a comfort than a fear.

After reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven, I began to think about the people that most affect your life: they are not always as obvious as you would first think.

The story resolves Eddie’s questions about why he meets the people he does; it gives him a perspective on his life and the people in it. I would highly recommend this book as a must for all sceptics and non-believers of the afterlife.