The Five People You Meet in Heaven | 
| Author: Mitch Albom
Publisher: Hyperion
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1592 reviews
Sales Rank: 980
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 198
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.2 x 5.1 x 0.8
ISBN: 0786868716
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780786868711
ASIN: 0786868716
Publication Date: September 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs. Albom takes a big risk with the novel; such a story can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and this one does in moments. But, for the most part, Albom's telling remains poignant and is occasionally profound. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to It's A Wonderful Life. --Patrick O'Kelley
Product Description
Part melodrama and part parable, Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven weaves together three stories, all told about the same man: 83-year-old Eddie, the head maintenance person at Ruby Point Amusement Park. As the novel opens, readers are told that Eddie, unsuspecting, is only minutes away from death as he goes about his typical business at the park. Albom then traces Eddie's world through his tragic final moments, his funeral, and the ensuing days as friends clean out his apartment and adjust to life without him. In alternating sections, Albom flashes back to Eddie's birthdays, telling his life story as a kind of progress report over candles and cake each year. And in the third and last thread of the novel, Albom follows Eddie into heaven where the maintenance man sequentially encounters five pivotal figures from his life (a la A Christmas Carol). Each person has been waiting for him in heaven, and, as Albom reveals, each life (and death) was woven into Eddie's own in ways he never suspected. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie understands the meaning of his own life even as his arrival brings closure to theirs. Albom takes a big risk with the novel; such a story can easily veer into the saccharine and preachy, and this one does in moments. But, for the most part, Albom's telling remains poignant and is occasionally profound. Even with its flaws, The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a small, pure, and simple book that will find good company on a shelf next to It's A Wonderful Life. --Patrick O'Kelley
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1587 more reviews...
 Fantastic Book July 15, 2008
I absolutely loved this book. Mitch Albom is a fantastic writer. You will not be able to put this book down. I must read.
 Just Okay. July 12, 2008
Kept my attention. Just a little too weird for me. The whole carnival setting & characters I just couldn't relate to.
Your life is important! July 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
You never know whose life you'll have the ability to change or positively impact by simply "knowing" them. The Five People You Meet In Heaven, weaves a story of how one man impacted the lives of so many people and yet, never realized it until he met and talked with them in heaven.
The Five People You Meet In Heaven is author Mitch Albom's first novel. This is a story of Eddie, who at eighty-three feels his life has been a waste of time and energy. He dies while attempting to save the life of a child. In heaven he meets five people whose lives were impacted or changed because of having known him.
In a sense, the end of Eddie's life is really the beginning of his journey of self-discovery.
The Five People You Meet In Heaven started me thinking about my own life. Little do we know how our life touches and influences the lives of others. Honestly, how many times have you thought about how a simple "hello" to a stranger or a helping hand to a neighbor could positively impact the rest of their life? I believe we'll all be more conscious of our day-to-day encounters with the people we meet after we read this book. Believe it or not, everyone passes through our lives for a reason.
This is the first time I've read a Mitch Albom book. Growing up in Michigan I thought of him strictly as a sports writer for the newspaper. The man has fiction writing talent! He was able to draw me into Eddie's life. Each story, flashback or snippet of Eddie's life has a self-development theme and lesson from which we can all learn.
The overall theme: Your life has special meaning and that meaning can have a profound impact on others.
Self-development lessons come in all shapes and sizes. The Five People You Meet In Heaven demonstrates the power one person has to affect many lives. All the people who have passed through your life go on to then affect the lives of hundreds and thousands of additional people. Each person you meet carries with them a sense of your purpose in life. The bottom line - you are important and your life has meaning.
If you're feeling as if you've lost some of the meaning in life or your life doesn't have focus, this book is for you. If you're living a life without joy, passion or pleasure, this book is for you. If you're wondering if your life even matters, this book is for you.
The Five People You Meet In Heaven is an easy read but it's not a simple book. It has a deep message if you are truly on the road to self-discovery. I have a question for you - Why wait until you're in heaven to discover that your life has purpose? Let's use the insight from this book to live our lives with meaning, purpose and joy.
What a wonderful fantasy... July 2, 2008
Mitch Albom is a remarkable writer. I have enjoyed all of his works whether in the weekend "Parade" Magazine, his books or numerous other works. He is fantastic...humanistic, deep, thoughtful, even philosophical, yet down-to-earth.
Regardless of the tone, he is guaranteed to touch your heart, your spirit and your soul with his writing. Here he doesn't disappoint his fans, and he makes new fans as well.
What a wonderful, heartfelt *fantasy*. But is it a fantasy? The reader quickly believes that this fantasy is a reality for all of us. What a completely wonderful tribute to our elderly: a group that has become *second class* in our society, a group that has a unique and important stories to tell us about our past, our lives, our future. Why are we the only nation in the world that doesn't always respect our elders? Besides other important topics, this book really shows us how important history is: our family, our upbringing, our heritage, our background, our uniquely individual journey through life.
The story surrounds a wonderful man named Eddie. A man who has had a very full life and is about to die at the ripe old age of 83. Although Eddie thinks his life is *mediocre*, he quickly learns that, at his death, he isn't the schmuck he always thought he was. He learns that he has contributed greatly to humanity.
I don't want to ruin the story-line by divulging the plot and entire story, but I can say that I hope that Albom's philosophy about what happens when we leave this earth is true. Even if it is only 50% true, I would be happy. If you believe at all in angels, you'll be happily beside yourself while reading this book.
I laughed and I cried along with the author. When I finished the book I was changed. Life is short. Life is precious. Love is eternal. Life and family is all that matters while we are on this earth. Don't sweat the small stuff. Bask and revel in your every day life. Seize the moment and the day. Be kind, be honest, be good.
Highly recommended. A+
Great Shape June 22, 2008
I would recommend this seller to anyone. The book was in great shape and came very fast.
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