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TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE: An Old Man, a Young…
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TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson (An old man, a young man,&life's greatest lesson) (original 1997; edition 1998)

by Mitch Albom (Author)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
19,676365232 (3.83)193
I really enjoyed this despite the inevitable end.
Did you have a beloved mentor growing up? Someone who understood you & helped you see the wonder in the world? That person for Mitch Albom was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor. Skip ahead sixteen or so years & Mitch has lost sight of Morrie's teachings & has gone into the 'work more, get more money' spiral until one day the rug is pulled out from under him & it was around this time he saw Morrie in an interview on the tv. This book is what happens after that...
This was really enjoyable, easy to read as well as being a quick read. This was Mitch Albom's first book published & it kind of shows although not in a bad way. It makes sense though if you know his writing background which was as a sports journalist as the chapters are all sorted into little segments which I found a tad annoying after awhile but the overall story & the insights Morrie imparts make up for it I think. I think my favourite quote is:
Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, & devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose & meaning.
And another one:
Money is not a substitute for tenderness, power is not a substitute for tenderness. When you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have.
While not being particularly revolutionary, I feel these and other passages that touched me in this book are very relevant to today's society & for the life of me I don't know why more people are reading this book.
  leah152 | Dec 6, 2022 |
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1. Summary: Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, and gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Mitch Albom rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying of ALS, Mitch visited Morrie in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final 'class': lessons in how to live.
2. Ted Koppel Nightline interview, as mentioned in the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtYyT6Hl3ms
3. Author interview, 25 years of Tuesdays with Morrie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yg95u9q5Z3Q
4. Learning objectives and themes: https://www.prestwickhouse.com/blog/post/2020/03/how-to-teach-tuesdays-with-morr...
5. Unit lesson plans and activities: https://donnellydailyapple.com/category/high-school/tuesdays-with-morrie-unit/
6. Lesson plans including discussion prompts: https://www.varsitytutors.com/englishteacher/albom
7. Activity pack: https://www.tpet.com/content/PHSamples/TuesdaysMorrieACTPKs.pdf ( )
  juliasmith22 | Mar 17, 2024 |
Enlightenment
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |

I read this book in 2017 and needed to pick up something I know I will enjoy. This just made me reflect that life is too short and that I need to focus on what matters. Tuesdays with Morrie is perhaps the best-known account of an individual’s experience with ALS. It is a deeply moving story about Albums’ re-uniting with his beloved teacher and mentor, Morrie Schwartz, during Schwartz’s final months of life as he succumbs to the ravaging effects of the disease. The student relates how his teacher chose to use his illness as an opportunity to study how to die, but in the process, Morrie extracts lesson after lesson about how to live. This work is a heartwarming and heartbreaking tribute to a deeply insightful human being. It is drenched with wisdom and insight about love, life and appreciation. But it is also a story about a man who accepted the notion that ALS is inescapably terminal, and chose to derive something good from a bad situation.
( )
  b00kdarling87 | Jan 7, 2024 |
What do you do when you pick up a book to read and you already know that the main character is going to die? It is always the case when you read memoirs and biographies.

Well, you crack open the book and read on to see what golden nuggets can be imparted to you.

In tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, the subtitle itself states that you will get "life's greatest lesson". Here, Albom chose to use the singular form of ‘lesson’ instead of plural. One would think that there would be an epiphany of some sort for the answer to life itself. Yet I think this was a misnomer for the "last class" since the author himself wrote down a list of topics to talk about with Morrie: death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness, and a meaningful life during their 14 Tuesday classes together.

Tuesdays with Morrie is a very easy read. I read it in 3 hours while writing down several of Morrie's aphorisms - quotes - or reiterating my own epiphany moments. Most of what Albom recorded is nothing new other than wise thoughts of a dying man married with Buddhist teachings or meditation (or other religious teachings that tell you to let go and love everything).

It goes without saying that the backstory to the making of this book was more compelling to me than that actual book. The fact that Albom took the time out of his life to make the trek from Chicago, IL, to Waltham, MA, every week was a commitment that few people can make. Albom made the initial visit after learning from a Ted Koppel Nightline interview that his favorite college professor, Morrie Schwartz, was dying of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. At the time, it was noted by Albom in the book that there was a writers' strike. Albom, being a sports writer, was technically out of job and had time on his hands. Life works in such mysterious ways sometimes. Somehow, a lighted path connected the two estranged professor and student at just the right time, to find one another, when they both needed each other.

In the book, Albom used simple words to convey Morrie's messages with some minor grammar issues here and there. These selected words were probably how Morrie talked since their meetings were videotaped. Simple and direct. The book, however, focused quite a bit on Morrie's dilapidating conditions and mentioned too much of his coughing, etc., without really touching on the humanistic side of Morrie’s mental status as his condition worsened. We do not truly get to see how Morrie’s mindset changes as his condition worsens. I do wonder if the disconnect is because Albom wrote the book as a sports writer - noting the highlights of what and when happened.

The only time that I felt that there was a glimpse into Morrie’s mental well-being was when he talked to Ted Koppel about wanting to die with dignity and his fear of eventually depending on someone to wipe his bottom. I think this is a real fear for just about everyone who is no longer a toddler and of sound mind. Morrie’s aphorism that stuck with me was: “When you are in bed, you are dead.” This was his inevitable ending that would come true.

After finishing the book, I was not satisfied. I wanted to know Morrie and what he had to say about how he lived with the knowledge of his impending death. He was a very well-liked sociology professor, so I felt he must have a lot to share. A quick Google search brought up several books by Morrie himself: Letting Go: Morrie’s Reflections on Living While Dying and Morrie in His Own Words. I found a pdf copy of the latter on archive.org. The book is only 127 pages. Easy enough. Check back for my thoughts.

Recommendation: Overall, tuesday with Morrie is a very easy read if you have a few hours with nothing else to do or read. Morrie’s aphorisms are there to take away to self-reflect on. So taking the time to read this book is not any lost of time.

Epiphanies and Quotes (aka Morrie’s Aphorisms):
“[A]ccept who you are and revel in that. … You have to find what’s good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue.” [120]

“Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone. … Do the kinds of things that come from the heart. When you do, you won’t be dissatisfied, you won’t be envious, you won’t be longing for somebody else’s things. On the contrary, you’ll be overwhelmed with what comes back.” [128]

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” [52]

“Love is when you are as concerned about someone else’s situation as you are about your own.” [178] ( )
  DomsAbode | Oct 16, 2023 |
I read this book the summer going into my freshman year of AP English thinking it would be a wholesome book. My god was I wrong. This book broke me and put me together again. The books talks about a man going to visit his favorite professor and each week they just talk about life and boy did I wish I was sitting in a room with them listening to Morrie talk about his life. ( )
  florrrrr12 | Aug 31, 2023 |
This wasn't bad, but I hated the format. The author's dialogue was without quotation marks 95% of the time and it was just confusing. Plus, this felt like it dragged on and had the same advice every book does. This did have a powerful message though.

I also think I would have gotten more out of this if I read it 5 or 10 years from now rather than for school. ( )
  CaitlinDaugherty | Aug 28, 2023 |
This wasn't bad, but I hated the format. The author's dialogue was without quotation marks 95% of the time and it was just confusing. Plus, this felt like it dragged on and had the same advice every book does. This did have a powerful message though.

I also think I would have gotten more out of this if I read it 5 or 10 years from now rather than for school. ( )
  CaitlinDaugherty | Aug 28, 2023 |
Tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lesson by Mitch Albom (1997) 192 pages.

I was about halfway through the book, page 80, the chapter called “The Fourth Tuesday: We Talk About Death”, when my mother died from throat cancer, at 9:20pm on November 27, 2022.

P. 15: when author’s uncle was doubled over in agony with pain from pancreatic cancer, and moaning, “Ahhhhh, God”, everyone averted their eyes. I find I do the same when my mom has her coughing spells. It was the most helpless the author has ever felt in his life. Me too!

Dying brings about humility. The thing Morrie dreaded the most was the fact that one day soon someone was going to have to wipe his ass, …”the ultimate sign of dependency”.

That day arrived for my mom only one day before she died. She refused to wear a diaper to bed and in the morning had peed and pooped in bed. She was too weak now to even make it out of bed with our help to the porta-potty next to her bed. Me and my sister cleaned her up, changed sheets, while giving her words of encouragement, “It’s alright, Momma! We got this!”…then put a diaper on her with no arguments.

The day had come. Hospice would be coming to give her bed baths three days a week. But, this never happened. Mom didn’t make it.

1. “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. We think we don’t deserve love, we think if we let it in we’ll become too soft.” (p. 52)

2. Give your time, love and your concern to others. And when you are in the presence of someone, listen. Give them your undivided attention.

The dying seem to naturally separate themselves from the outside world. My father did, and my mother did. They didn’t even want to look out their window that overlooks the bayou. Blinds closed. Small circle of family to visit on regular basis. Contemplating death. Afraid of the the actual passing…how will they suffer. Looking at past regrets. Praying God forgives them. Finally, looking forward to seeing their loved ones on the other side because this side has left them mentally and physically miserable and depleted.

Shirley Ann LeBlanc
(July 24, 1945 - November 27, 2022)


Ted Koppel’s interview with Morrie Schwartz on Nightline (2005):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3M3QvKwRbjc ( )
  MissysBookshelf | Aug 27, 2023 |
I'm just going to say this one thing as a review because I currently can't stop crying. If you read this book and it doesn't change you in some way, you need to really do some reflection on your life.

A wonderful story that is a must read.
( )
  Chanicole | Jul 6, 2023 |
The special neuroses of the overly-learnéd really make me smile sometimes, you know.

(Paul, Earl of Pansypants): (as though he were Churchill raging that WWII is about to start) It is an affront to our Empire, our civilization! It is not Educated!

(yeah, about that) It’s about a model student who has heady conversations with an ex-professor who had turned into a personal friend.

—Yes, yes, of course…. (pained expression) Maybe if they translate it into Attic Greek….

—You’re saying it has to be in Ancient Greek before you read it.

—(angry) ATTIC Greek, man! There were many dialects of the Ancient Greek Language, but only the Attic dialect speakers were men who deserved not to be slaves…. (despair) It’s just that people like it; they like it…. Some people think that talking about death violates a Victorian taboo and won’t read it of course, but still, more people read it than attend my lectures on Kant’s epistemology! (wrings hands) If people like it, there’s something Wrong with it…. If people like it: there MUST be something WRONG with it….

—That’s a common notion, Paul.

—(hopeful) Oh, is it? Gosh, I feel so alone in this world….

…. I like how brief it is, how unelaborated. We are all still children deep down, even with the coming of great age, and children do not need to write twenty pages when three or four will do, you know.

And I suppose this is to belabor the point, but in terms of personality types, the Three who learns there is meaning to life and not just the run-around, is learning the lessons. (At least, that’s how I see it; it’s possible to see the meaning of life as something necessary but conditional, something we must make up for ourselves; however, the people who say that routinely deny others the right to do as they have done, which makes no sense, not that it’s terribly sensible to suppress people when you have “discovered the One” or something, although I suppose that that would be less hypocritical.) The Five or whatever who thinks that Threes are bad because they’re successful, and if they bring meaning to the masses and not just the run-around, why, that just makes it worse—that is not learning one’s lessons…. I used to think there was something magical in a book, you know. Of course, there isn’t. There’s probably more intellect in an intellectual play or TV show than a simple book, and more to the point there’s more goodness is simple true thought than…. Well, it IS a sort of run-around, isn’t it, to say you’ve got to go on learning, but what for, you can’t say?

Of course, death can be overdone like anything else. I’m not trying to throw the Buddhists under the bus, but sometimes that next-world speculation doesn’t untie one’s knots, you know; I actually just bought a Buddhist book about sex, though, to replace the Buddhist book on death I deleted. One’s more characteristic, you know, but both themes exist in all civilizations, whether here or there, or high or low.

…. Anyway, it’s an inspirational general memoir, like Chicken Soup for the Soul, right; it’s like a more ultimate-reality version of CSS. Like a lot of Buddhist-y things, it actually reminds me of the CSS nay-sayers, you know. (Nay-sayers of the world, unite! We have a world to deny, and so much to lose in the process!) It was actually kinda sad, because it’s like, he’s here talking about the naughty people doing naughty things, and it’s like, Man, that’s why I don’t go looking for bad people doing bad things, right—because as soon as you bring it up, it starts to sound like a good idea! 😗🦖

—What a strange world we live in, and how filled with unaccountable things.
—(screws up face) Everything can be explained by Science! If I didn’t believe that, why, I’d be left with the memoirs!
—(laughs) Stay strong, nay-sayer. You’re doing a great job….

…. It is funny how anti-popular it can be, despite its success. Kinda futile, though; it would have been better to just be happy, rather than chasing nay-sayer approval. Because if a guy is anti-popular, and nobody listens, he’s right, because people are bad. And if he’s anti-popular, and a bunch of self-doubting people latch on to his death talk, then, well, he’s wrong, still, somehow…. because people listened. And it’s probably the same people who will tell you, If most people are doing worse in the market, that proves that life is inherently unfair, or whatever, since people are, people are…. Well, people are shit, but I’m here to protect them, right. —I think that people can make mistakes but it’s usually because they’ve been systematically taught the wrong way, you know. I don’t really understand the other way to see things.

…. People do run wild too much sometimes, but I think we’ve not yet counted the cost of male religion, even when it’s not a specific religion, or religion at all, narrowly speaking, but it’s still…. male religion.

…. And it’s like—
—You don’t understand: your options are, Believe that people’s problem is bad education, which can only be fixed by reading the classics in order to block out life, OR use your intuition, or somebody else’s, to say that people are trash, done and dusted, right.
—I don’t see my choices in quite the same way.
—But what about colonization?
—What does colonization mean to you?
—It means don’t ask questions like that! It means EYE know the answers, and you, don’t!

This was truly, “Weekend Tuesday”.

…. I guess that, given how short it is, it’s worth reading once, maybe, you know; however, I won’t read his other books. He seems to write all of them about death, like he’s afraid to branch out a little bit, right.

The first person you meet in heaven: the guy you cut off on the highway
His message: guilt

The second person you meet in heaven: the first person you ever had a sexual thought about, and/or the person who sold you the celebrity news magazine
Her message: guilt

The third person you meet in heaven: Jesus
His message: “I’m not Jesus.”

🫢

😸

…. And then he tosses in relationships as an afterthought: good thing he knows everything about it, right.

Chandler: I wonder if tyrants or conformists ever have bad marriages. (beat) Nah, that won’t make enough people feel guilty, (laugh track), after all—not that many people actually believe in the system! (laughs) I mean, if we’re going to get them, I want to get ALL of them, Morrie! I want to be president of your fan club, Morrie! (someone is closing the door on him) I’ll answer all your mail! I’ll (door is shut on him). (dang it, gesture) I need to learn how to win friends and influence people. It’s surprising I have Any friends at all, given my personality! So cold and judgmental, ick. (beat) Did I just say ‘ick’? (shakes head)
Joey: Like you’re a little girl.

Chandler: So you obsess about crime, you drop hints about the OJ Simpson case—and then you make fun of people for watching a basketball game?
Joey: Heh heh heh
Chandler: Although come to think of it, our show wasn’t about racial inclusion, either.
Joey: 😮

…. Morrie: Remember the grandeur that was Greece; do not forget the glory that was Rome. (dies)
Ross: Wow. Wow. You know what guys, leave him here; leave him here, I am going to make a sculpture of him. I’ll call it, The Dying Professor.
Monica: Ross. Soon he’s going to start to smell.
Ross: Right…. (calls out to her as she’s walking away) People have to remember to be a man, though. Not just men! People in general!
  goosecap | Jun 9, 2023 |
I've read this book before, years ago. It was good to read it again. Despite its age, the book still offers valuable insights to a happy life according to Albom's former professor Morrie Schwartz. ( )
  hobbitprincess | May 20, 2023 |
58018
  WBCLIB | May 5, 2023 |
Morris seems like he was a great guy. He had some nice thoughts on life. Still, this book didn't do much for me. There were no big revelations and very little any ordinary, decent person couldn't figure out. Not terrible, but not great either. ( )
  CarolHicksCase | Mar 12, 2023 |
This weirdly didn't resonate with me half as much as I thought it would. I guess it's partially my problem with memoir--that everything is so very important to those involved yet sometimes seems less so to those not. All of this was very sweet, and Morrie's way of thinking is of course very valuable and something to strive towards, but it felt a bit repetitive at points and a bit as though he were idolised. I've loved all of Mitch Albom's other works so this is surprising. I'd still recommend, but yeah, I didn't connect. I did tear up though, as suspected.

--
Mitch? Wait, is this nonfiction? Nope nope nope I'm not reading this. If this is nonfiction and it's by Mitch Alborn then bad things are going to happen to my eyes. ( )
  whakaora | Mar 5, 2023 |
A classic in all respects, this book inspires and delights like no other. Anyone that hasn't read it, should add it to their list. Albom's storytelling is masterful as are the characters and insights. Without doubt one of the best books of its kind; a true must read! ( )
  Jonathan5 | Feb 20, 2023 |
Having seen on TV a professor of his from sixteen years ago who is now dying, a successful sports writer gets in touch to write a book about how much more important relationships are than money and thus make lots of money.

Perhaps an overly cynical summary, but I can recognise that the book has touched a cultural nerve and led to important conversations while myself finding it full of platitudes which skidded to a halt every time it came close to developing in an interesting direction. ( )
  Robertgreaves | Jan 30, 2023 |
Simple, important. I don't like to think about important things, but this one comes in small doses. ( )
  JudyGibson | Jan 26, 2023 |
Good story of a man and his favorite teacher. I read it quite a while ago so I've forgotten some details but it's very inspiring. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
I really enjoyed this despite the inevitable end.
Did you have a beloved mentor growing up? Someone who understood you & helped you see the wonder in the world? That person for Mitch Albom was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor. Skip ahead sixteen or so years & Mitch has lost sight of Morrie's teachings & has gone into the 'work more, get more money' spiral until one day the rug is pulled out from under him & it was around this time he saw Morrie in an interview on the tv. This book is what happens after that...
This was really enjoyable, easy to read as well as being a quick read. This was Mitch Albom's first book published & it kind of shows although not in a bad way. It makes sense though if you know his writing background which was as a sports journalist as the chapters are all sorted into little segments which I found a tad annoying after awhile but the overall story & the insights Morrie imparts make up for it I think. I think my favourite quote is:
Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, & devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose & meaning.
And another one:
Money is not a substitute for tenderness, power is not a substitute for tenderness. When you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you're looking for, no matter how much of them you have.
While not being particularly revolutionary, I feel these and other passages that touched me in this book are very relevant to today's society & for the life of me I don't know why more people are reading this book.
  leah152 | Dec 6, 2022 |
Beautiful tribute to Mitch Albom’s coach, mentor, and friend, Morris Schwartz, his former professor at Brandeis University. Morrie is dying of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Mitch interviews him on Tuesdays over the course of his illness. Though Morrie is dying, he does not indulge in self-pity, but values his remaining time with his loved ones and offers an uplifting perspective on what is important in life. It is simple, elegantly executed, and incredibly moving. ( )
  Castlelass | Oct 30, 2022 |
Here's what wrote in 2008 about this read: "Unforgettable and later re-read. The dignity of a dying man; the number of lives that one man can touch and impact. To Morrie, with love." ( )
  MGADMJK | Sep 14, 2022 |
Interesting book that makes you think about what’s truly important in life. Morie had a wonderful outlook on life even after he was very sick. ( )
  Leessa | Sep 3, 2022 |
Bookclub book at some point.
Fast read… ( )
  PatLibrary123 | Aug 9, 2022 |
This mawkish book is terribly overrated and has no intellectual value. ( )
  mvolz | Jul 10, 2022 |
So good!! ( )
  bookishreputation | Mar 9, 2022 |
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