The Five People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Albom

First person: The Blue Man
“Well. People often belittle the place where they were bor. But heaven can be found in the most unlikely corners. And heaven itself has many steps…”
“There are five people you meet in heaven.” “Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth.”

Second person: The Captain
“Sacrifice, “the Captain said. “You made one, I made one.” “We all make them. But you were angry over yours. You kept thinking about what you lost. You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. It’s supposed to be. It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to. Little sacrifices. Big sacrifices.”

Third person: The Father
“Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attaches the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.”

Fourth person: The Lover
“Love, like rain, can nourish from above, drenching couples with a soaking joy. But sometimes, under the angry heat of life, love dries on the surface and must nourish from below, tending to its roots, keeping itself alive.”
“Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. you hold it. you dance with it. Life has to end. Love doesn’t.”

Fifth person: The Child
“I was sad because I didn’t do anything in my life. I was nothing. I accomplished nothing. I was lost. I felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there.”
“Supposed to be there,” she said.



I read “The Five People You Meet in Heaven” and I learned a lot.

I cried.
I cried to know that perhaps in some instance, my life affects others in such a way that I won’t even realize it.
I cried to know that true love hurts, especially when they are gone.

Even in Heaven, you still have heartaches. But as time goes on, you will learn the meaning of your life.

Well, let’s best hope that I figure it out first before I go to heaven (or hell? – God forbid…)


Anyways, love your work, Mitch.

(also posted in www.cecolabookclub.blogdrive.com on 9th February 2005)