Name: Jana Kryzl B.

Dibdib
Class number: 62
Book title: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Author: Mitch Albom
Type: Fiction
Hidden Stories
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom made its way
into the lives of people in 2003 when it was published by
Hyperion with 114 pages. It is a book that shows or, as what the
author claims, wishes what heaven would be like when our time on
Earth has come to a stop. It takes us to a journey with Eddie,
who saw himself as nothing but a failure while he was still
alive, but he was taken to a place that made him realize that
everything in him mattered. He met people whom he thought had
nothing to do with him but he soon found out that everything was
connected since the beginning. This life-changing book, with
each page containing lines that will surely strike you, offers a
story that will open your hearts, and teach you that the
tragedies in your life can be the sunshine of other people.
The story started at the end of Eddies life who died during his
83rd birthday while saving a girl from a falling ride at Ruby
Pier, an amusement park where Eddie grew up and eventually
worked. Eddie was a soldier during World War II and got his knee
injured that caused him to limp permanently. After serving the
army, he spent most of his life being a maintenance guy in Ruby
Pier.
After Eddie died, he was sent to heaven to meet five people so
that he could understand his life on Earth. His first person was

the Blue Man named Joseph. It turned out that the Blue Man
died because of little Eddie. This was Eddies first lesson:
"That there are no random acts. That we are all connected. That
you can no more separate one life from another than you can
separate a breeze from the wind."
Eddies second person was his Captain in the army whom he served
with in the Philippines. Eddie found out that it was his Captain
who shot him in the leg to save him from going into a hut that
they burned down. Eddie got furious about this but the Captain
explained that he took Eddies leg to save his life because of a
promise he made that no one gets left behind. Eddie also found
out that the Captain died for them. The Captain taught Eddie his
second lesson: Sacrifice is a part of life. It's supposed to
be. It's not something to regret. It's something to aspire to.
After his second lesson, Eddie met Ruby, the woman whom Ruby
Pier was named after. Ruby showed Eddie the reason why his
father died and taught him to forgive his father despite how he
treated him - from neglect to violence and finally to silence.
Ruby taught Eddie his third lesson: Holding anger is a poison.
It eats you from inside.
Eddies fourth person was his late wife whom he loved so much,
Marguerite. Marguerites death was caused by a tumor in her
brain. This left Eddie upset, mad and betrayed. Eddie learned
his fourth lesson: Lost love is still love. Life has to end.
Love doesn't.
Eddies fifth and final person was Tala, a girl in the
Philippines who got burned alive in the hut that Eddie set on
fire during the war. After finding out the truth, Eddie was so

sad about everything. He felt like his life was for nothing but
Tala taught him his final lesson. Tala taught him that his life
was not a waste and that he was supposed to be in Ruby Pier to
keep the children safe.
The book is simply splendid as it teaches us how to deal with
things that leave us distraught, empty or hopeless. Eddie
responded negatively when he lost his leg, his father and his
wife, so, he thought that he was left with no reason to live
happily. Just like Eddie, we might feel like we are stolen of
the life we dreamed of, but we should realize that we deserve
the lives we have and we are as precious as the air that people
breathe to live.
Furthermore, may it be done purposely or not, when the author
used the name Tala (which means star), the book then seems to
propose that even strangers can shine a light for us when we are
helplessly lost in the dark. The book also emphasizes the idea
that there are always hidden reasons for the things that people
do as shown when Eddies Captain shot him in the leg. Thus, we
cannot judge people by simply focusing on the result of their
actions.
Mitch Albom introduced us to a heaven that gives us a chance to
see the untold stories in our life. In the book, Eddie found out
that somehow, he was the reason why Joseph died, so, in any kind
of situation in our lives, we should might as well realize that
with everything we do, someone elses life is affected.
I found Alboms way of writing very beautiful from the
flashbacks to the current happenings in the story. He tells the
story as if hes sharing us something very realistic yet

unbelievable. The teachings from the book give me shivers and

ironically, warmth as well, for they truly make me stop and
reflect on how they perfectly make sense. Everything in this
book is interesting and wonderful, and I am sure that whoever
reads this would definitely have a better outlook in life.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a gift. It is a gift for
it makes us feel good inside the plot, the characters and the
lessons. This book makes us want to love our loved ones even
more. It also makes us want to open our hearts again to people
who shut us their doors. This book says out loud the questions
and heartaches that we have long been hiding, and at the same
time, this book answers those questions and heals our wounds.