I don't remember the last time I read a book so quickly. Maybe the 900-odd page Game of Thrones tomes I've been reading lately have impeded speedy reading enjoyment, but I breezed through Tuesdays with Morrie within a handful of hours. The book was exactly what I needed in my life now.
I've danced around the issue of death and like most people, unless having dealt with a loved one's death face on, have managed to avoid delving too much into thinking about it, because I haven't had to. You'd think that with my recent near death experience (surviving a cardiac arrest) I'd be all over this shit. I've wanted to be but for the most part, I was so overwhelmingly happy to be alive, that I didn't want to think about death too deeply or too often. Having narrowly escaped death's bony embrace, there were so many other immediate things to deal with and think about. Primarily, how I want to live.
I knew this would be a subject matter I would return to sooner or later...in my own time, when I felt ready. I'm interested in how different cultures deal with and what they believe about illness, the older members of society, mortality and anything else related; but I didn't know where to start, nor did I have the appetite to.
One fateful Monday, strolling through Cronulla beach and its local shops, I popped into my new favourite bookshop. After having read all Game of Thrones books on a digital device, I decided to not do that again. Life's too short to be starring into a screen more than you have to, and I wanted the tactile quality of paper and turning pages in my hands again. So I popped into The Best Little Bookshop in Town and asked for help.
"What do you like reading?" asked the shop owner. I'm not sure I reply. I usually like Paulo Coelho but I've read most of his books. I bought the Amy Schumer book off you the other week. It's not something I'd usually go for, in fact, she makes me slightly uncomfortable but I liked that I read something different (that I thought I wouldn't normally like). And I enjoyed it. There was this other book I really liked but I can't remember the name or author....I like ancient history, fiction, not that much into real life stories normally. "Have you heard of Tuesdays with Morrie? It's an international best seller, but more importantly it's a great book, very popular" he replies. He gives me a brief synopsis. It's about a college professor who gets diagnosed with ALS (a terminal neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, where your body shuts down til you can't move or breathe anymore) who reconnects with one of his students after nearly 20 years. The book is about one last 'thesis' they write together, summarising their catch-ups in the lead up to the professor's death. It's about the meaning of life.
Perfect I thought. I'm sick of trying to figure out what the meaning of life is for me. It's a constant work in progress. I need a break. I want to find out what some other bozo thinks about it!
So I smashed the book overnight. I couldn't put it down. And then I cried...ugly crying. And then I took two weeks to read it again, slowly, with great big pauses in between for the thoughts to sink in and to cry some more. I even cried in public at a cafe when I was reading it, I couldn't help myself. I guess it really hit home as it succinctly articulated and cemented many of the thoughts I've been having on the topics of death and living a meaningful life.
I could go through and list the key
points for you in short form below (I highlighted them the second time
around), but sitting down now in front of my computer and leafing
through the book, I realise I wouldn't be doing the story, author or
Morrie any justice. And everyone I suspect, may get something different
out of it, so if you're interested and ready to delve into something
deeper, it's best that you read it for yourself. I couldn't recommend it
highly enough for anyone wanting to live a richer life, but
particularly people living with chronic or terminal illness/disease.
If you've already read this book, let me know your thoughts below. Are there any other profound books that affected you and you'd recommend to read?
I've danced around the issue of death and like most people, unless having dealt with a loved one's death face on, have managed to avoid delving too much into thinking about it, because I haven't had to. You'd think that with my recent near death experience (surviving a cardiac arrest) I'd be all over this shit. I've wanted to be but for the most part, I was so overwhelmingly happy to be alive, that I didn't want to think about death too deeply or too often. Having narrowly escaped death's bony embrace, there were so many other immediate things to deal with and think about. Primarily, how I want to live.
I knew this would be a subject matter I would return to sooner or later...in my own time, when I felt ready. I'm interested in how different cultures deal with and what they believe about illness, the older members of society, mortality and anything else related; but I didn't know where to start, nor did I have the appetite to.
One fateful Monday, strolling through Cronulla beach and its local shops, I popped into my new favourite bookshop. After having read all Game of Thrones books on a digital device, I decided to not do that again. Life's too short to be starring into a screen more than you have to, and I wanted the tactile quality of paper and turning pages in my hands again. So I popped into The Best Little Bookshop in Town and asked for help.
"What do you like reading?" asked the shop owner. I'm not sure I reply. I usually like Paulo Coelho but I've read most of his books. I bought the Amy Schumer book off you the other week. It's not something I'd usually go for, in fact, she makes me slightly uncomfortable but I liked that I read something different (that I thought I wouldn't normally like). And I enjoyed it. There was this other book I really liked but I can't remember the name or author....I like ancient history, fiction, not that much into real life stories normally. "Have you heard of Tuesdays with Morrie? It's an international best seller, but more importantly it's a great book, very popular" he replies. He gives me a brief synopsis. It's about a college professor who gets diagnosed with ALS (a terminal neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, where your body shuts down til you can't move or breathe anymore) who reconnects with one of his students after nearly 20 years. The book is about one last 'thesis' they write together, summarising their catch-ups in the lead up to the professor's death. It's about the meaning of life.
Perfect I thought. I'm sick of trying to figure out what the meaning of life is for me. It's a constant work in progress. I need a break. I want to find out what some other bozo thinks about it!
So I smashed the book overnight. I couldn't put it down. And then I cried...ugly crying. And then I took two weeks to read it again, slowly, with great big pauses in between for the thoughts to sink in and to cry some more. I even cried in public at a cafe when I was reading it, I couldn't help myself. I guess it really hit home as it succinctly articulated and cemented many of the thoughts I've been having on the topics of death and living a meaningful life.
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Mitch Albom (author) with Morrie Schwartz. Photo by Heather Pillar.
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If you've already read this book, let me know your thoughts below. Are there any other profound books that affected you and you'd recommend to read?
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