The following text is lifted entirely from “Observations Whilst Climbing a Hill”, the separate journal which I maintain to record thoughts on grief and grieving whilst making my own journey through the most difficult thing I have experienced in my life so far. It is a review of my favourite non-fiction book to date- “Tuesdays with Morrie”.
I believe there is one book which anybody who is dealing with a loss should read. I don’t think it’d be categorised as a book about grief, because it’s not.
There’s grief within “Tuesdays with Morrie”, of course, because it chronicles the final months of a man called Morrie Schwartz, who is terminally ill. (For my sake, I am glad he did not have cancer.)
Morrie had ALS- a degenerative disease which gets your body, leaving your brain and cognitive function intact.
As a result, Morrie is able to provide profound and splendidly articulate comments on death throughout his illness, although death is just one topic covered in his discussions with Mitch Albom, a former student of his who rediscovered him through “Nightline”, one of those American institutions, I suppose. The book retells the final fifteen weeks of Morrie’s life, essentially. The first Tuesday visit is not philosophical, it is simply a joyous reunion after fifteen years of not having seen one another. However, Morrie’s insights and in particular the final sentence he got out before Mitch: “Death ends a life, not a relationship.” provide me with comfort, as they would any bereaved person, but they also offer valuable wisdom for people who are not actively grieving.
In short, if you’ve been bereaved, be it recent or otherwise, and are looking for inspiration, read “Tuesdays with Morrie”. On the other hand, if you simply want to read a beautifully profound book, you can’t go wrong with it.
Morrie Schwartz, the subject of "Tuesdays with Morrie"
Great post on a wonderful book.
Bill