Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom an old man, a young man, and life ’ s greatest lesson

The Curriculum (an excerpt) “ The last class of my old professor ’ s life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves. The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning Of Life. It was taught from experience.

No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to pose questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor ’ s head to a comfortable spot on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him good-bye earned you extra credit.

No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally death. The last lecture was brief, only a few words.

A funeral was held in lieu of graduation. Although no final exam was given, you were expected to produce one long paper on what was learned. That paper is presented here.

The last class of my old professor ’ s life had only one student I was the student. ”

About the book A heartwarming story about Mitch ’ s relationship with his college mentor with whom he has lost touch for 16 years. Upon seeing Morrie on Nightline with Ted Koppel talking about what it was like to die from Lou Gehrig ’ s disease, Albom was horrified and ashamed.

He called Morrie, flew to Boston, and began a series of weekly visits, rekindling their loving teacher-student relationship while tackling a larger subject in their final class: The meaning of life.

This book details those Tuesday visits, and the shared reflections on love, work, marriage, envy, children, forgiveness, community, and aging, all seen through the eyes of a wise old man who was down to his last days.

The Tuesday Visits The WorldMoney Feeling Sorry For YourselfHow Love Goes On RegretsMarriage DeathOur Culture FamilyForgiveness EmotionsThe Perfect Day The Fear Of AgingWe Say Good-Bye

Morrie Loves to dance Has no cure Stopped driving Stopped walking free Stopped having privacy

Reminiscing Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient, and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.

Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. He had a second chance to ask the bigger questions that still haunted him and received wisdom for his busy life the way he once did when he was younger.

The Third Tuesday We Talk About Regrets (p. 64) “‘… Mitch, ’ he said, ‘ the culture doesn ’ t encourage you to think about such things until you ’ re about to die. We ’ re so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it breaks — we ’ re involved in trillions of little acts just to keep going. So we don ’ t get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing? ’”