Tuesdays With Morrie
People react in unpredictable ways to death. If someone we love dies suddenly in an accident, we know what to do. We have to arrange for burial and mourn our loved one. But many people do not die suddenly. They get sick, go to the doctor, find out they have a fatal or potentially fatal disease, and often live for some time after that diagnosis. People aren't always as clear about what they should do or how they should behave under such circumstances, and the person who is dying has to find his or her way through a complex situation. People in such a situation have time to evaluate their lives and come to grips with their fates.
The book Tuesdays with Morrie: an Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson, by Mitch Albom, tells the story of Albom's visits with his former professor friend and mentor Morrie Schwartz. Albom meets with Morrie every Tuesday in the last months before Morrie died, rekindling an old relationship and learning important lessons from his old friend in the process. While it is often a cliche that people suddenly develop great wisdom when they know they are dying, Morrie has the emotional strength and intellectual capacity to share his insights with Albom, enriching Albom's life even as Morrie's life comes to an end.
Morrie did not let Albom provide meaningless chit-chat and banter. He maintained his mentor relationship with Albom, challenging him with tough questions and insisting that Morrie come up with questions himself. In this way, Morrie demonstrated not only the ability to lead his student but to be a student himself, challenging Albom to force Morrie to not flinch from the huge life questions that faced Morrie as he contemplated his impending death.
Morrie's determination to examine his fate unflinchingly took great...
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