Book Suggestion: Tuesdays With Morrie (Mitch Albom)

PhillieG
PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
Has anyone read this since being diagnosed with cancer?
I think it's a must read for ALL of us.
Short book, 1 maybe 2 days tops to read.

It deals with accepting death and living life
(I posted this in the Colon Cancer Forum too)

Comments

  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    I had not heard of this book
    I had not heard of this book but I googled it and it was made into a movie and has study sheets. Someone thinks a lot of it! I didn't like the quote at the end of wikipedia-"when you're in bed, you're dead." I know it's a symbol but...
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Marcia527 said:

    I had not heard of this book
    I had not heard of this book but I googled it and it was made into a movie and has study sheets. Someone thinks a lot of it! I didn't like the quote at the end of wikipedia-"when you're in bed, you're dead." I know it's a symbol but...

    Marcia,
    you HAVE to read it. It's a very quick read. 200 pages and they are 3/4 size. It really gives a great way to look at and accept what EVERYONE on the planet has to look forward to.
    ;-)
  • RE
    RE Member Posts: 4,591 Member
    :-)
    It is a wonderful book Phil, quite touching really.

    RE
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    PhillieG said:

    Marcia,
    you HAVE to read it. It's a very quick read. 200 pages and they are 3/4 size. It really gives a great way to look at and accept what EVERYONE on the planet has to look forward to.
    ;-)

    lol Phil! Are you trying to
    lol Phil! Are you trying to convince me by how short it is and large print? How did you know my attention span has decreased and my eyesight too?

    I'll check and see if they have it at the library.

    P.S. I just contacted my library (catalog is online-an't technology great) and they have two copies! so I put one on reserve. You want a book review?
  • dasspears
    dasspears Member Posts: 227
    I have....
    ...it's a great book to read.
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Marcia527 said:

    lol Phil! Are you trying to
    lol Phil! Are you trying to convince me by how short it is and large print? How did you know my attention span has decreased and my eyesight too?

    I'll check and see if they have it at the library.

    P.S. I just contacted my library (catalog is online-an't technology great) and they have two copies! so I put one on reserve. You want a book review?

    :-)
    I have a very hard time finishing books. I thought it was the actual "reading" part but I do the same thing when I get them on CD.

    LOL, I didn't realize how I worded that, it must have come across like I didn't think you'd make it through it!

    -p
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    PhillieG said:

    Marcia,
    you HAVE to read it. It's a very quick read. 200 pages and they are 3/4 size. It really gives a great way to look at and accept what EVERYONE on the planet has to look forward to.
    ;-)

    My husband picked up the book this afternoon for me and I got my favorite bookmark and started to read. I didn't need the bookmark. Quite a story. I read that Parkinson's is the same, first you need a cane, next a walker, and last a wheelchair. That is a story that haunts you. Lots of good advice in it tho. Maybe we need to be haunted like that more.

    P.s. It struck a cord with me because his symptoms are simular to what PWP (people with Parkinson's) have to look forward to. Altho everyone doesn't progress that far and it's slow, could take years (everybody seems to be different). Never-the-less, it's tucked back in our head and we don't want to look at the fact. I had cancer first and Parkinson's second.

    We watched Matrix the other day and it reminded me of what I really believe (not that I believe the movie, that would be stupid). I think God is the programmer and he gave us free thought and action. This is why he doesn't interfere. We have to do it by ourselves. He might help a little but mostly leaves it to us (hey I don't know the rules). Someday we will leave the program and then really know what it's all about. Somehow this belief comforts me.

    Have you ever wondered why Jesus always talked in symbols and why we dream in symbols? (I've heard the churches view point-he did it so the authorities wouldn't understand and not arrest him-that really worked) Maybe he was trying to appeal to our inner self or soul on a different level.
  • just4Brooks
    just4Brooks Member Posts: 980 Member
    Loved it
    A friend of mine gave it to me about a year before my cancer dx. Loved it!!

    Brooks
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  • Balentine
    Balentine Member Posts: 393
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Marcia this is what my study bible says about parables
    Speaking about the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3-9....my study bible states that parables means 'placing beside'...simple short stories with two levels of meaning. They present a comparison or contrast in order to stimulate thought, decision and action. Parables are the most difficult yet powerful form of literature to create. Their power comes both in the simplicity and brevity of their teaching as well as in the memory tool they provide. Approximately one-third of Jesus teaching was done in parables that revealed the nature of the kingdom of God. Here the first four were given to the general public and the last four were given to the disciples. The foundational parable is set apart from the others since it is the key to the rest. The kingdom of God that Jesus offered to the Jews involved their RECEIVING this message. The parable of the soils is a parable of HEARING. This parable warned that unless the MIND and the HEART would HEAR and ACCEPT the Word of God, the teaching of parables would be meaningless.....in verse 10 after the parable of the soil, the disiples asked Jesus 'why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus said, "because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear nor do they understand." So in other words we have to come to God with an open and sincere heart to receive Him before we can understand and receive all that He has to give to us spiritually.....the Holy Spirit is our teacher so you must receive Him into your heart before the understanding can happen.
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    Tuesdays With Morrie
    I read this book when it first came out...waaaaay BC! I recently read another book of his, "Have a Little Faith". It is about his childhood rabbi, now old, who asks Albom to write his eugoly (Albom fell away from the faith years before and is shocked, surprised and uncomfortable with this request).

    It is intertwined with the account of another man Albom has come to know; a Black man who was involved in crime and made a bargain with God...the typical one of "if you get me out of this, I will serve you " kind of bargain. Only this time, the man was true to his word and started a church in his less than affluent neighborhood.

    Also a small, easy read~ I like Albom both as a sports-writer and an author!
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    chenheart said:

    Tuesdays With Morrie
    I read this book when it first came out...waaaaay BC! I recently read another book of his, "Have a Little Faith". It is about his childhood rabbi, now old, who asks Albom to write his eugoly (Albom fell away from the faith years before and is shocked, surprised and uncomfortable with this request).

    It is intertwined with the account of another man Albom has come to know; a Black man who was involved in crime and made a bargain with God...the typical one of "if you get me out of this, I will serve you " kind of bargain. Only this time, the man was true to his word and started a church in his less than affluent neighborhood.

    Also a small, easy read~ I like Albom both as a sports-writer and an author!

    Never read it
    He also wrote "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" which I have not read either. Two books to add to my list. I am reading Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" right now and I just finished "Marathon Man".

    I like Albom too
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    PhillieG said:

    Never read it
    He also wrote "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" which I have not read either. Two books to add to my list. I am reading Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" right now and I just finished "Marathon Man".

    I like Albom too

    I only know of "Marathon Man" from the old movie with Roy Scheider and Dustin Hoffman (or is that one "f'?) I sooo need a spell-check feature in here! I don't imagine it is the same, is it? What is " The Hero" about?

    I am fascinated by and with this spirituality board~ I never knew it existed until this week, and I have been part of the CSN family since 2003! I love having my brain/heart stimulated and this seems just the place! Maybe CSN will include a Politics board too~ Rachel Maddow/Keith Olberman fans vs Glenn Beck/Fox News fans! The blood pressure elevating possibilites are almost as endless as the "My God Is Better Than Your God" arguments! I am soooo ready! LOL

    Chen♥
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    chenheart said:

    I only know of "Marathon Man" from the old movie with Roy Scheider and Dustin Hoffman (or is that one "f'?) I sooo need a spell-check feature in here! I don't imagine it is the same, is it? What is " The Hero" about?

    I am fascinated by and with this spirituality board~ I never knew it existed until this week, and I have been part of the CSN family since 2003! I love having my brain/heart stimulated and this seems just the place! Maybe CSN will include a Politics board too~ Rachel Maddow/Keith Olberman fans vs Glenn Beck/Fox News fans! The blood pressure elevating possibilites are almost as endless as the "My God Is Better Than Your God" arguments! I am soooo ready! LOL

    Chen♥

    The Two No-No's
    They are one in the same. I found a copy of the book at my folks house lying around ($1.95. Obviously an old book!) I had enjoyed the movie so I thought let's read the book.

    "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" is a book by Joseph Campbell. Are you familiar with him at all Chen? He was a noted scholar, educator, writer and much more who had a great interest in mythology and it's role in civilization. He's written a lot about the similar threads that run through modern religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) and through ancient myths of various peoples throughout time. Things like virgin births, resurrection, dying so others can be saved are common themes that date back way to ancient Indian tribes, Eskimo folklore, Mayans and other indigenous people, before they became part of more modern religions that they are more associated with. So I guess you can say he wrote about comparative religion too. He died in the 1980s. He had done a very interesting program/interview on PBS called "The Power of Myth" with Bill Moyers. I find it all very interesting to see that many things that I always thought were more modern and part of Christianity for example actually date back way before that time. With so many beliefs out there I find looking at them to see how they are similar very interesting. It show me that we have an intrinsic need to have things explained to us so we have since the beginning of time had something hard-wired into us to create explanations for it.

    So in short, the Hero...(which I just started) is looking at God (or whatever label one wishes to put on that Being) and how it's been around in culture and mythology since the beginning of mankind.

    This is a very good board. It was created as a place for people to talk about religion, spirituality and meditation and how those things helped them get through cancer.

    Politics! You betcha!
    Glenn Beck? Bring 'em on
    -phil ;-)
  • Marcia527
    Marcia527 Member Posts: 2,729
    PhillieG said:

    Never read it
    He also wrote "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" which I have not read either. Two books to add to my list. I am reading Joseph Campbell's "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" right now and I just finished "Marathon Man".

    I like Albom too

    I have the "Five People"
    I have the "Five People" book. I bought it because at a chemo treatment another lady had the book and it had a ferris wheel on the cover. I had a dream that women dressed as candy stripers got me away from the cancer (which was at a house) and told me I'd be safe at the ferris wheel across the street. I had not had surgery yet.

    I liked the book but it's sad in parts.
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    Marcia527 said:

    I have the "Five People"
    I have the "Five People" book. I bought it because at a chemo treatment another lady had the book and it had a ferris wheel on the cover. I had a dream that women dressed as candy stripers got me away from the cancer (which was at a house) and told me I'd be safe at the ferris wheel across the street. I had not had surgery yet.

    I liked the book but it's sad in parts.

    Sad
    I found Tuesdays With Morrie to be sad too but it also celebrated his life which I found to be uplifting.

    I find there is much out there that can be inspiring for me even the sad parts. It's all part of the circle of life.
    -p
  • sal314
    sal314 Member Posts: 599 Member
    PhillieG said:

    Sad
    I found Tuesdays With Morrie to be sad too but it also celebrated his life which I found to be uplifting.

    I find there is much out there that can be inspiring for me even the sad parts. It's all part of the circle of life.
    -p

    Tuesdays with Morrie
    Yes I read it and loved it! I agree, it was sad, but also taught you some many lessons and the fact that you have to be thankful for the time you have and make the most of it!

    Sally
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    sal314 said:

    Tuesdays with Morrie
    Yes I read it and loved it! I agree, it was sad, but also taught you some many lessons and the fact that you have to be thankful for the time you have and make the most of it!

    Sally

    From the book
    I like this quote a lot.
    "The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live."
    ~ Mitch Albom

    In the story, Morrie wasn't moping around waiting to die. I think it's a great attitude to have