The Characters and Lessons of Life

“We all lose somebody we care about and want to find some comforting way of dealing with it, something that will give us a little closure, a little peace.” – Mitch Albom

Albom, a best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster, philanthropist and musician has written books that have sold over 35 million copies, about 14 million of those being copies of one of the best-selling memoirs of all time, Tuesdays With Morrie.  That book, which chronicles Albom’s weekly visit with Morrie Schwartz, his one-time professor afflicted with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), was written to share their weekly conversations about life and death, and as a way to help Schwartz’s family with rising medical bills.  At first rejected by multiple publishers, it was finally published as a thin volume with just a small press run.  But, as word of mouth took over, the book skyrocketed to a 205-week run on the New York Times Bestseller List.  It went on to become an Emmy-winning television movie and a long-running Broadway play and continues to touch people’s lives through the wisdom shared by the dying professor.

Born in May 1958, Albom was first a successful sportswriter before becoming – almost by accident – a phenomenal chronicler of people’s lives and hopes and the inspiration they brought to others.       

                                                    “I find interesting characters or lessons that resonate with people and sometimes I write about them in the sports pages, sometimes I write them in a column, sometimes in a novel, sometimes a play or sometimes in nonfiction,” Albom said.   “But at the core I always say to myself, 'Is this something people want to read?'  I believe that you live on inside the hearts and minds of everyone you've touched while you were here on earth."

 

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