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¶ … Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom, and discusses the book in the light of "Life-Span Development" by John W. Santrock.
The book "Tuesdays with Morrie" hold in itself great wisdom. It is the story of the author and how his mentor conveyed his wisdom to his students. The main character of the book is Morrie Schwartz, a professor of sociology. The author of the book, Mitch Albom, is one of the students of the professor. The story of the book revolved around Morrie, as the particular professor is the author's most favorite.
The story covers the life of the author and the professor and the often-steady, often-hasty process of change in their lives. As Morrie holds great significance in the author's life, the abrupt change in the professor's life is bound to impact Mitch's life too. Mitch only highlights with a slight hint towards this change, "I leaned over to give him a hug. And then, although it is not really like me, I kissed him on the cheek."
The title of the book is mentioned as "Tuesdays With Morrie" as even before the re-union of the teacher and the student, the two were in the same class more on Tuesdays than any other weekday. "We're Tuesday people," Morrie said to Mitch.
Mitch Albom had been a student of Morrie Schwartz over a period of time. Even during the student life the author had a special connection with his professor. The book explains how, after graduation, Mitch rediscovered his professor in the last few months of his life. When the author rediscovers his long lost mentor, finds of his impending death...
The professor, although quite prudent even before the diagnosis of the terminal illness, had earned a great amount of experience just dealing with the life after the diagnosis. This immeasurable experience was hence reflected to Mitch, his former (and now renewed) student.
The book very aptly explains the various phases in the professor's life as changes shift in. The mid-age of the professor was described as a life fully realized. The professor is told to have loved dancing during that particular period of his life. The author explains that everything changed in Morrie's life when he stopped dancing. The reasons contributing to the professor's lack of interest in dancing was the surprising discovery of his illness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Lou Gehrig's disease, a brutal, unforgiving illness of the neurological system. Dealing with the abrupt change in lifestyle made the professor more receptive. The professor developed an insight to life with the threatening (unpredictability) of it. Morrie took the approach "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade," due to sheer unavailability of choice. In the end, it is felt while reading the author's narration of Morrie's life, that the professor lived a completely worthy life since the discovery of his ailment.
The most interesting fact of the book is that it foregrounds these various phases that an individual passes through in a cycle of life. The book is closely related to literature describing social psychology of individuals. One such book that used to compliment Morrie's…
References
Albom, M. (2002). Tuesdays With Morrie. 0-7679-0592-X.
Santrock, J.W. (2003). Life-span development (9th ed.).
Mitch and Janine also talk to Morrie about marriage. Morrie calls it an important life experience all should have. In learning about another within marriage one continues to learn about oneself. By the 11th Tuesday Morrie has become extremely helpless. In this session, Mitch is able to shed his self-consciousness about Morrie's increasingly infantile needs, in order to help Morrie breathe, which is now very, very difficult. They also hold
Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom recounts the afternoons he spent with his old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, after discovering that Morrie was dying from ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). For anyone interested in the study of death and dying, the book is a tremendous resource. When we speak about death speculatively or theoretically, many of us fantasize about living a long healthy life and then dying quite suddenly
For instance, Mitch graduates from collage, begins his career, and lets his work consume him. Morrie asks if he had found someone to share his heart with, if he was giving to his community, and if he was at peace with himself. Mitch wonders what happened to him and is embarrassed (34). In reality what happened to Mitch is what has happened too many before; he went to work
Tuesdays With Morrie Physically: How is Morrie eating? "He was eating mostly liquid supplements, with perhaps a bran muffin tossed in until it was mushy and easily digested." "He was taking food through a straw. I still shopped every week and walked in with bags to show him, but it was more for the look than anything else." "He had begun to cough while eating, and chewing was a chore." How is Morrie talking? "When you're in
He sometimes admits he is afraid, but for the most part, he is very dignified and brave in how he faces death. He is also remarkable candid, and that is quite appealing too. There is another reason that I identify with him as well, and that is because he helps Mitch, even though he is dying. He is very selfless, and he worries more about other people than he
The book is set up as a series of lessons, each one occurring on one of Mitch's visits to his newly reinstated mentor. Morrie Schwartz's "lectures," however, are not like traditional college lectures. Instead, they take the form of discussions between the two characters on the important lessons of life, with the two men learning from each other. Mostly, however, the book details how Albom reconnects both with his mentor