Tuesdays with Morrie

¶ … Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom, and discusses the book in the light of "Life-Span Development" by John W. Santrock.

The book "Tuesdays with Morrie" hold in itself great wisdom. It is the story of the author and how his mentor conveyed his wisdom to his students. The main character of the book is Morrie Schwartz, a professor of sociology. The author of the book, Mitch Albom, is one of the students of the professor. The story of the book revolved around Morrie, as the particular professor is the author's most favorite.

The story covers the life of the author and the professor and the often-steady, often-hasty process of change in their lives. As Morrie holds great significance in the author's life, the abrupt change in the professor's life is bound to impact Mitch's life too. Mitch only highlights with a slight hint towards this change, "I leaned over to give him a hug. And then, although it is not really like me, I kissed him on the cheek."

The title of the book is mentioned as "Tuesdays With Morrie" as even before the re-union of the teacher and the student, the two were in the same class more on Tuesdays than any other weekday. "We're Tuesday people," Morrie said to Mitch.

Mitch Albom had been a student of Morrie Schwartz over a period of time. Even during the student life the author had a special connection with his professor. The book explains how, after graduation, Mitch rediscovered his professor in the last few months of his life. When the author rediscovers his long lost mentor, finds of his impending death due to an illness. The professor, although quite prudent even before the diagnosis of the terminal illness, had earned a great amount of experience just dealing with the life after the diagnosis. This immeasurable experience was hence reflected to Mitch, his former (and now renewed) student.

The book very aptly explains the various phases in the professor's life as changes shift in. The mid-age of the professor was described as a life fully realized. The professor is told to have loved dancing during that particular period of his life. The author explains that everything changed in Morrie's life when he stopped dancing. The reasons contributing to the professor's lack of interest in dancing was the surprising discovery of his illness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig's disease, a brutal, unforgiving illness of the neurological system. Dealing with the abrupt change in lifestyle made the professor more receptive. The professor developed an insight to life with the threatening (unpredictability) of it. Morrie took the approach "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade," due to sheer unavailability of choice. In the end, it is felt while reading the author's narration of Morrie's life, that the professor lived a completely worthy life since the discovery of his ailment.

The most interesting fact of the book is that it foregrounds these various phases that an individual passes through in a cycle of life. The book is closely related to literature describing social psychology of individuals. One such book that used to compliment Morrie's life is written by the author John W. Santrock, and is called "Life-Span Development." Both of the books can be referenced while talking about the other as they compliment each other. There are certain theories mentioned in the book by Santrock, which can be used to explain either the prudence of professor Morrie, or justify his actions in the book by Mitch Albom. Such instances will be discussed in the forthcoming text.

Lets take for example Morrie's mention of marriage as a significant event in an individual's life. This was one of the lessons conveyed to Mitch on one of their Tuesday sessions. The professor mentioned marriage as a very important (and elevating) experience in one's life. The union of a man and woman in marriage is talked about by John W. Santrock in his book 'Life-Span Development'. Author Santrock identifies marriage as a significant stage in of the family life cycle of any individual. A successful (happy) marriage between two individuals is identified to prove healthy, physically and mentally, for those individuals. Santrock exclaims that a happy marriage is also responsible for a longer life span. Further, the disadvantages of being single are also a topic of discussion by Santrock. In other words, the wisdom earned by professor Morrie through the announcement of the vulnerability of his life is complimented by Santrock.

Santrock, in his book mentions that several individuals deny and avoid death. This is a cultural norm in many places around the globe, very prevalent in the United States. Professor Morrie hence also had a hard time accepting the news of his death. Watching people on the street having apathy towards him was a riling experience for the professor. As per Santrock, the professor was in denial.