The five people you meet in Heaven

1. The five people you meet in Heaven By Mitch Albom

2. Author: Mitch Albom • He was born on May 23, 1958. • He is an American best-selling author, • His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide. • Selected work: Tuesdays With Morrie (1997), • the Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003), • For One More Day (2006) • Have a little faith (2009)

3. The story is about…

4. On Eddie’s eighty-third birthday, he died in a tragic accident happened in Ruby Pier. He tried to save a little girl from a falling cart.

5. When he woke up in his afterlife, he found himself in the Ruby Pier again.

6. He met a Blue Man who he knew when he was only a child.

7. The Blue Man told him that he was going to meet five different people. They were going to help him understand and explained his life.

8. “Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at that time, and that is what heaven is for - For understanding your life on earth….”

9. “This is the greatest gift God can give you: To understand what happened in your life. To have it explained.” The Blue Man explained.

10. The five people were the Blue Man, the Captain, Ruby, his wife Marguerite and Tala.

11. They might be Eddie’s old friends, his loved one, or strangers Eddie have never met or heard of.

12. However, in the most unexpected ways, all lives intersect..

13. They told him their stories, to help Eddie understand the true meaning of his life.

14. The Blue Man The first person Eddie meets in heaven. He was a sideshow worker at Ruby Pier when Eddie was a child. He was killed as a result of Eddie running in the street after his ball.

15. The Blue Man teaches Eddie his first lesson, which is thatthere are no random acts in life, and that all incidents are intertwined in some way.

16. The CaptainThe second person Eddie meets in heaven; his former war captain.

17. He explained that, although he shot Eddie, he kept his promise by not leaving him behind and even sacrificed his life so Eddie and two other soldiers were able to live.

18. He also teaches Eddie that when one loses something, they often gain something else.

19. RubyThe third person Eddie meets in heaven and also Ruby Pier's namesake.

20. She teaches Eddie to let go of his anger and to forgive his father for the damage he caused in his life.

21. Marguerite Eddie’s wife and only true love. Marguerite was the only happiness in Eddie's life.

22. She is the fourth person he meets in heaven. She teaches him the lesson that love is not lost with death.

23. Tala The fifth person Eddie meets in heaven. Tala was the little girl who Eddie saw crawling into the burning fort during the war. Although he lived most of his life in denial, he finds out in heaven that he did kill her in the fire.

24. She teaches Eddie that his life did have a purpose which was to keep children safe at the pier.

25. Themes

26. There are no random acts in life Eddie learns from the Blue Man that there are no random acts in life. All lives intertwine in some way.

27. If Eddie’s ball had never gone into the street, he would not have chased after it, running in front of the Blue Man’s car. Thus, the Blue Man would not have been got into an accident and killed.

28. “We are all connected. That you can no more separate one life from another than you can separate a breeze from the wind.” the Blue Man said, “strangers are just family you have yet to come to know.”

29. Lives are sacrificed to save others During WWII Eddie's Captain sacrificed his life for the sake of the three other soldiers.

30. As they were escaping in a vehicle, they came across a suspicious area. When the Captain got out of the vehicle to inspect the land hewas killed by stepping on a land mine.

31. Though the Captain died, his sacrifice saved the othersoldiers.

32. Forgiveness and Letting go of Anger Eddie hated his father for ruining his life. Even after his father's death, Eddie could never seem to let go of the anger he held towards his father.

33. In fact, Eddie was so angry with his father after his death, that it seemed to still ruin Eddie's happiness.

34. Ruby teaches Eddie to let go of his anger and to forgive his father.

35. The Power of Love Although Eddie was miserable throughout most of his life, his love for Marguerite was the only thing that made him happier. After she died, Eddie felt extremely empty without her.

36. When he meets Marguerite in heaven she explains to him that, even after her death, she had always loved Eddie. Eddie learns that although life ends love endures.

37. There are no regrets in life, just lessons to be learnt.