Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom
Published in 1997 by Random House
The second third of the book hurls the reader straight into the conversations and connections between Mitch and Morrie. In the second third we see insights that are beautiful and well worded and some that are repulsive and not part of the dominant discourse of illness and dying. An insight that many feel isn't acceptable to talk about is Morrie's inability to wipe his own behind. Morrie had been dreading the day that he lost that bit of independence. But now that he has come to terms with it, he embraces it and finds comfort in being nearly fully dependent on the aide of others. Another insight that seems to be the overall theme of the book is; When you learn how to die, you learn how to live. This is beautiful, but one can't say they agree or disagree until they are in that position.
Precis:
Morrie is pulling me out of my lifestyle where I just chase a paycheck. He is showing me the world through his eyes and I'm coming to comprehend the overwhelming significance of everything. I am fearful that his time will soon come to it's last act, and all I can do is hope that my presence makes his last days better.
Quotes:
"I don't want to leave the world in a state of fright. I want to know what's happening, accept it, get to a peaceful place and let go."
Morrie seems to have everything planned out, except for the last split second. His actual death, as well as anyone else's, will come as a surprise and how exactly it will happen is up in the air until it actually happens.
"I grin at my brother, and we are united by childish pride. That wasn't so hard, we think, and we are ready to take on death again."
When we are young, life is endless and death is at the back of our minds. Youth is the ability to be care-free and not worry. When we are young, nothing can stop us.
""Every day, she did the same thing: came out in the morning, lay on the floor, stayed there until the evening, talking to no one, ignored by everyone. It saddened Morrie. He began to sit on the floor with her, even lay down alongside her, trying to draw her out of her misery."
Morrie was such an amazing person, but not only that, he understood people and rather than turn them into a science project, he interacted with them and came to understand them.
The second third of Tuesdays with Morrie has been arresting and moving, it has tested everything I know about death but for some reason when I read it, I still see Hollywood. I see Morrie looking pristine even though he is sick. I see the perfect setting with two men having a deep conversation. I can't bring myself to see Morrie as he probably looked. Maybe that's the affect society has had on my way of thinking and perceiving, or maybe Mitch Albom wrote it this way to make something that looked horrible seem angelic and divine.
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