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Tuesdays with Morrie

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This article is about the book. For the film, see Tuesdays with Morrie (film).
Tuesdays with Morrie
First edition
AuthorMitch Albom
LanguageEnglish
GenreBiographical, Philosophical novel, Memoir
PublisherDoubleday
Publication date
1997
Publication placeUnited States
Pages192[not verified in body]
ISBN0385484518
OCLC36130729
378.1/2/092 B 21[not verified in body]
LC ClassLD571.B418 S383 1997[not verified in body]

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, A Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson is a 1997 memoir by American author Mitch Albom. The book is about a series of visits Albom made to his former Brandeis University sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz was dying from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[1][2] Albom's subsequent memoir has been widely reviewed and has received critical attention after features by The Boston Globe and Nightline about Schwartz's dying.[1][3][4][5][6][not verified in body][clarification needed]

The book spent 206 weeks on the New York Times Non-Fiction Bestsellers List and remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for several years;[7] as of 2006, it was the best-selling memoir of all time.[2][better source needed][needs update]

Synopsis

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Author Mitch Albom is a successful sports columnist. In 1995, Albom contacts his former sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, after seeing him on Nightline afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Albom is prompted to visit Schwartz in Massachusetts, where a coincidental newspaper strike allows him to visit every Tuesday. The book is divided into 14 days, each containing one of Albom's visits to Schwartz. Each visit includes lectures from Morrie on life experiences with flashbacks and references to contemporary events. Schwartz's final days, ultimately, are spent giving Albom his final lesson of life.[8]

Main characters

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Mitch Albom

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Main article: Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom was born in May 1958 in New Jersey.[citation needed] Originally, he was a pianist and wanted to pursue a life as a musician.[citation needed] Instead, Albom became a journalist and later an author, screenwriter, and television/radio broadcaster[citation needed] In college, he met sociology professor Dr. Morrie Schwartz, who would later be the focal point of the memoir Tuesdays with Morrie.[citation needed]

Morrie Schwartz

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Main article: Morrie Schwartz

Morrie Schwartz was a sociology professor at Brandeis University who was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, at the age of 77 in August 1994.[9] The son of Russian immigrants, Schwartz had a difficult childhood, indelibly marked by the death of his mother and his brother's infection with the polio virus.[citation needed] He later went on to work as a researcher in a mental hospital, where he learned about mental illness and how to have empathy and compassion for other people; later in life, he decided to become a sociology professor in hopes of putting his accumulated wisdom to use.[citation needed] This is where Schwartz met his student Mitch Albom, who would later become a lifelong friend.[citation needed] Schwartz was married to Charlotte Schwartz, with whom he had two children.[citation needed] After a long battle with ALS, Schwartz died on November 4, 1995.[citation needed] His tombstone reads, "A teacher until the end."[citation needed]

The Boston Globe and Nightline antecedents

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In March 1995, Jack Thomas of The Boston Globe wrote a piece on Schwartz, titled "A Professor's Final Course: His Own Death."[3][4] Ted Koppel became aware of the article, and a decision was made to conduct a series of interviews with Schwartz, which began later in March and which were then edited and presented on Nightline.[5][6][10][better source needed] It was through this program's airing that Schwartz's former student, Albom, was reminded of his old professor, leading Albom to reach out and reconnect.[10][better source needed]

Reception

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Tuesdays with Morrie spent 206 weeks on the New York Times Non-Fiction Bestsellers List and remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for several years.[7] In July 2006, Tuesdays with Morrie was the best selling memoir of all time.[2][better source needed]

Critical

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Albom's book has been widely reviewed since its appearance in 1997.[1]

Publication history

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Other editions

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An unabridged audiobook was also published and narrated by Albom. The appendix of the audiobook contains several minutes of excerpts from audio recordings that Albom made during his conversations with Schwartz before writing the book. A new edition with an afterword by Albom was released on the book's tenth anniversary in 2007.[11]

Adaptations

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The book was adapted into a 1999 television film directed by Mick Jackson, starring Jack Lemmon.[12] as Schwartz and Hank Azaria as Albom.

The book's author, Mitch Albom, and esteemed playwright Jeffrey Hatcher joined forces for a stage play adaptation that premiered Off-Broadway in November 2002 at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Directed by David Esbjornson, it starred Alvin Epstein as Schwartz and Jon Tenney as Albom. A revival of the play, featuring Len Cariou as Schwartz and Chris Domig as Albom, was presented by the Sea Dog Theater company at St. George's Episcopal Church in the spring of 2024.[13]

See also

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Articles on other Albom books

References

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  1. ^ a b c de Botton, Alain (November 23, 1997). "Continuing Ed" (book review). The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2023. Who was Morris Schwartz, who died in 1995, and what did he have to say that Albom found so helpful? Schwartz came from a family of destitute Lower East Side Russian Jews and became a leading member of the Brandeis sociology faculty. He was a genial fellow, whom Albom describes as looking, in his commencement robes, like a cross between a biblical prophet and a Christmas elf. He loved to laugh and dance, he was irreverent toward those in authority and kind to the underprivileged. He was an inspiration to his students and a loving husband and family man. / Albom's book is divided into chapters that give us Schwartz's attitudes toward death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness and a meaningful life. The professor was not afraid of big statements: Love always wins, Money is not a substitute for tenderness, Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. One gets whiffs of Jesus, the Buddha, Epicurus, Montaigne and Erik Erikson. Schwartz's advice to Albom boils down to recommendations that he should work less, think more about his wife, give himself to others and remember he has to die. / Unfortunately, such true and sometimes touching pieces of advice don't add up to a very wise book. Though Albom insists that Schwartz's words have transformed him, it's hard to see why, to judge from the evidence in Tuesdays With Morrie. To be told that we should think more of love and less of money is no doubt correct, but it's hard to put such advice into practice unless it is accompanied by some understanding of why we ever did otherwise. Because Albom fails to achieve any real insight into his own previously less-than-exemplary life, it's difficult for the reader to trust in his spiritual transformation. Albom describes Schwartz's effect on others, including him, but never quite captures the effect itself. Despite the obvious charm and good nature of both author and subject, in the end, the exhortations fall flat. Just as a well-meaning statement like We should all live in peace doesn't help avert wars, Tuesdays with Morrie finally fails to enlighten.
  2. ^ a b c DePauw Staff (July 20, 2006). "Bestselling Author of Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom, to Present Ubben Lecture November 13". DePauw News & Media. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Thomas, Jack (March 9, 1995). "A Professor's Final Course: His Own Death". BostonGlobe.com (Living section). Retrieved May 22, 2023. Note, the date presented in this reference is of that of the original publication, rather than the October 19, 2022, date of its republication from that newspaper's archive.
  4. ^ a b Harris, Richard (March 15, 2015). "Nearly 20 years After His Death, Morrie Schwartz Lives On". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Koppel Ted & Schwartz, Morrie (March 1995). Conversations with Morrie: Lessons on Living. Nightline. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via YouTube.com. Note, the date presented in this reference is of that of the original event broadcast, though the specific date on a Friday is unknown; it is not the October 1, 2016, presentation date for the video at YouTube. As a non-standard and non-original source lacking that original dating, this citation should be replaced with an authentic video from ABC News.
  6. ^ a b Koppel, Ted & Albom, Mitch (July 14, 1998). Morrie: A Man Teaches Others How to Live and Die. ABC News. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Rich, Motoko (August 7, 2006). "Starbucks to Feature Mitch Albom's New Novel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 2, 2024.
  8. ^ "TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE". Kirkus Reviews. July 1, 1997. Retrieved December 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Brooks, Rich (May 14, 2005). "ALS forced two men to make different choices, and both are valid". Herald-Tribune. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Albom, Mitch (November 21, 2008). "Professor Turns Dying into a Final Lesson". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via MitchAlbom.com.
  11. ^ Albom, Mitch (October 18, 2007). Tuesdays with Morrie: 20th Anniversary Edition Audible Logo Audible Audiobook – Unabridged. ASIN B000XSAY4Q. Random House Audio.
  12. ^ Shriver, Ryan (2010). "Tuesdays With Morrie (1999)—Directed by: Mick Jackson". All Media Guide-Baseline. Archived from the original (film overview) on March 24, 2014 – via The New York Times. Note, this source contains no information about the 1997 book.
  13. ^ Buchwald, Linda. "Tony Winner Len Cariou to Star in Off-Broadway Run of Tuesdays with Morrie". Theatermania. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

Further reading

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https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/july-14-1998-morrie-man-teaches-live-die-48868897 https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/july-14-1998-morrie-man-teaches-live-die-48868897

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