Tuesdays with Morrie - Summary & What You Need to Know- Best book for beginners

                 The constant fear of death makes our lives worse! We often wonder what people who are on death bed think about their lives?

 

       Even I had similar thoughts when I had a second infection of the corona. When I had symptoms and felt dizzy, for the moment I had negative thoughts like, what if my life ends here.

 

       But to my dismay, I was calm and felt a sense of relief, maybe because I knew that I wasn’t going to die.

 

       But this book is about, what one might think during their last moment, and if we could know, how we could make lives easier!

 

       This book, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Albom, is based on an actual event. He has written about his last conversation with his professor who was on his deathbed, in this book, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’.

 

       In every stage of our life, we were told it was the most important part of our life and we were conditioned in such a way!

 

       But we might wonder how they consider these moments important when we talk to people in their 70s! we always experience extreme emotions in a movie irrespective of whether it’s a happy event or a sad event.

 

       Whether we are conditioned to feel in such a way or are we pressured to feel that way. Experiencing someone’s death in an accident might be more pressurizing and shocking for many.

 

       This is applicable even for natural deaths too. But while conversing with people who are in their last days, we could see the real meaning of life.

 

       We might have hundreds of dreams and things to do in life, whereas for them they are done and dusted with their life.

 

       And this book is all about, how people think about life on the other side. In March 2020, I was traveling to Madurai and they implemented a lockdown at that time.

 

       My niece and Nephews who came there for their vacation had to stay there for 2 years with us. Many of us had the opportunity to spend time with our families during the lockdown period.

 

       We all were playing on our terrace and my father who came and sat, told us, ‘what else does one need in life when our loved ones are with us?

 

       I was thinking, about how content he was and whether he had no dreams to travel or buy the things that he wanted.

 

       He became emotional and felt grateful that his loved ones were with him. When he was diagnosed with cancer, we had no idea about his pain and the recovery process.

 

       Though we were worried about his health, we never thought of his demise.  But we had meaningful conversations and shared beautiful moments during those 4 months.

 

       Could we really let go of the people and the things that we loved? All he needed was the presence of loved ones.

 

        In this book, there is an old man in his declining years, who shares his everyday routine in a positive way.

 

       He shares his thoughts and how he sees life, with Mitch Albom, the author, who is also his former student.

 

       On seeing his professor being so upbeat in his life, Mitch and his professor decide to meet every Tuesday.

 

       Every Tuesday, they discuss and converse about various aspects of life filled with happy and sad emotions.

 

       All of us might have gone through these emotions in our lives. The experiences of elders are way more than our experiences, as they were born before us.

 

       The feeling I had during my father’s demise, might not be the same for the demise of my grandparent.  How one could lead their life, all alone after a loved one’s demise, is still a million-dollar question for me!

 

       Mitch and his professor plan to meet every Tuesday. Thus, comes the title “Tuesday with Morrie” though his health deteriorates, they continue to discuss various aspects of life!

 

       Mitch gets emotional, when the wife of Morrie (the professor) tells him, that all he is looking for in his life now is ‘Tuesday’!

 

       Morrie recalls his life and aspects of life, by sharing this with his student on Tuesdays! I read this book during the lockdown when my father fell ill.

 

       After reading this, I had a chance to converse with my dad where he shared about his life and how my actions made an impact on his life, etc…

 

       Even I had made a recording of his conversation, where he shared his experiences, of how he taught me to ride a cycle, and I couldn’t remember much of it!

 

       I was complaining to my dad for getting me a cycle that doesn’t fit my height, but on seeing him worry, I taught myself to ride the tall cycle that he bought.

 

       And he said he was happy that I learned to ride it, to make him happy. He added that he was guilt-ridden and that he didn’t prioritize my happiness, but I had thought about his happiness over mine.

 

       Though he had disappointments with me in life, I learned how he had evolved in life as a parent, along with me.

 

       He once shed tears that he didn’t vote for Kamarajar and made him not won! During his last days, I could see his concern for the society that he was leaving behind.

 

       And this book is about the reflection of thoughts, one might have during their last days.  Out of affection, Mitch buys Morrie’s favorite food every time he sees him.

 

       He continues to buy his favorite food, even during the stage where he couldn’t eat any further! Though there was a need to be practical, Morrie had hope, as he had Mitch who loved and cared for him.

 

       I had an accident and was hospitalized with a broken tooth thought I was cool, my friends felt sad to see me in such a way!

 

       My friend ‘Arun’ who bought me mangoes the earlier day, visited me with mango juice the next day, and I was touched by his gesture!

 

       Even small gestures would create a great impact on a person’s life! Though my dad teases me for listening to Hindi songs, he bought me Kal Ho Naa D.V.D cassettes since I had a fondness for them!

 

       He asked me to play, the ‘Hum Tum’ song from bobby even when was losing his memory.  He sang the song loudly at the hospital. We felt relaxed as he is trying to ease the pain with music.

 

       Even during his last days, he tried to enjoy those blissful moments, by listening to his favorite song. And I realized this is what is important in life, and how we should take decisions in life.

 

       Death is an inevitable event in everyone’s life, and one has to learn to embrace death in life! And how we could lead our life with such thoughts, are discussed in this book, ‘Tuesdays with Morrie' by Mitch Albom.

 

Since it’s a small book, anyone could read this book and I’d say this book is a treasure for anyone in life! And anyone could connect easily, with those sweet emotional moments, which would create a new perspective on life!