For One More Day

Tuesdays with Morrie

Main article: Tuesdays with Morrie

Albom's breakthrough book came about after he was rotating the TV channels and viewed Morrie
Schwartz's interview with Ted Koppel on ABC News Nightline in 1995, in which Schwartz, a sociology
professor, spoke about living and dying with a terminal disease, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or
Lou Gehrig's disease). Albom, who had been close with Schwartz during his college years at Brandeis,
felt guilty about not keeping in touch so he reconnected with his former professor, visiting him in
suburban Boston and eventually coming every Tuesday for discussions about life and death. Albom,
seeking a way to pay for Schwartz's medical bills, sought out a publisher for a book about their visits.
Although rejected by numerous publishing houses, Doubleday accepted the idea shortly before
Schwartz's death as Albom was able to fulfill his wish to pay Schwartz's bills.[22]

The book, Tuesdays with Morrie, was published in 1997, a small volume that chronicled Albom's time
spent with his professor. The initial printing was 20,000 copies. As word of mouth grew, the book sales
slowly increased and landed the book a brief appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, nudging the book
onto the New York Times bestseller's list in October 1997. It steadily climbed, reaching the number-one
position six months later. It remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 205 weeks. One of the
top selling memoirs of all time,[23] Tuesdays With Morrie has sold over 14 million copies and has been
translated into 45 languages.[24]

Oprah Winfrey produced a television movie adaptation by the same name for ABC, starring Hank Azaria
as Albom and Jack Lemmon as Morrie. It was the most-watched TV movie of 1999 and won four Emmy
Awards.[25]

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Main article: The Five People You Meet in Heaven

After the success of Tuesdays with Morrie, Albom's follow-up was the fiction book The Five People You
Meet in Heaven (Hyperion Books) published in September 2003. Although released six years after
Tuesdays With Morrie, the book was a fast success and again launched Albom onto the New York Times
best-seller list. The Five People You Meet in Heaven sold over 10 million copies in 38 territories and in 35
languages. In 2004, it became a television movie for ABC, starring Jon Voight, Ellen Burstyn, Michael
Imperioli, and Jeff Daniels. Directed by Lloyd Kramer, the film was critically acclaimed and the most
watched TV movie of the year, with 18.7 million viewers.[26][27]