The Five People You Meet in Heaven

As I grow older, I find myself thinking more often about the next world. I don’t feel I have many years left, and that makes me want to prepare myself—mentally and spiritually—for whatever comes after this life. Yet of course, no one truly knows what awaits us in Heaven.

Mitch Albom, the author of this book, has written many deeply moving works. His most famous is Tuesdays with Morrie.

The main character, Eddie, is an 83‑year‑old maintenance man at an amusement park. He believes his life has been meaningless, with nothing to be proud of. The story begins at the end of his life. As the author writes, “But all endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.” On Eddie’s 83rd birthday, an accident occurs, and he dies while trying to save a lonely eight‑year‑old girl.

In Heaven, Eddie meets five people, one after another. They are not necessarily family or close friends. Some are people he would rather forget, some he barely remembers, and some he never knew at all. Each one teaches him an important lesson. After these five encounters, Eddie finally reaches a place of inner peace. In the end, he realizes that he was never “nothing” during his life on Earth.

We all sometimes feel that our lives are empty or without meaning. We get hurt, and we hurt others. We become part of someone else’s story without even realizing it. We hold grudges, or we survive because of someone else’s sacrifice. This story reminds us that no one lives alone—we are all connected through the relationships that shape our lives.

And it makes me wonder: who will be the five people I meet in Heaven? At the very least, I hope to see my parents. I want to thank my mother, and I want to apologize to my father for not being kinder to him.

 

 

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