Book Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

A maintenance man called Eddie dies and is sent to heaven, where he encounters five people - some known to him and some not - who each teach him a lesson.

“All endings are also beginnings. We just don’t know it at the time.”

If heaven truly exists, I sure hope it’s exactly like this! What sounds better than meeting up with loved ones who have gone before and have them explain to you the meaning of your life?

Religion and whether or not you believe in heaven or the afterlife is obviously a very personal thing and therefore I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book to everyone. The book wasn’t overly religious nor was it preachy either, and I do think non-religious people could still enjoy the story, but that’s up to each reader to decide!

I do believe in God and I do believe in the afterlife - and I feel like that’s a difficult thing to openly admit on here, but I feel like it’s necessary to explain why I loved this book. It was a total comfort blanket for me - my beliefs are a way of coping with my dad’s death.

This is really a very touching story about the impact we have on those around us. The style and writing is simplistic, but it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and once again I was grateful to read a weepy book like this by the pool with sunglasses to hide my tears.

In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, but if it sounds like something you’d enjoy or if you’re dealing with the death of a loved one, then give it a chance! 4 stars.

Johann

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