The five people
you meet in
Heaven
By Mitch Albom
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Author: Mitch Albom
He was born on May 23, 1958.
He is an American best-selling author,
His books have sold over 30 million copies
worldwide.
Selected work: Tuesdays With Morrie (1997),
the Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003),
For One More Day (2006)
Have a little faith (2009)
The story is about…
On Eddie’s eightythird birthday, he died
in a tragic accident
happened in Ruby Pier.
He tried to save a little
girl from a falling cart.
When he woke up
in his afterlife, he
found himself in the
Ruby Pier again.
He met a Blue Man
who he knew when
he was only a child.
The Blue Man told
him that he was going
to meet five different
people.
They were going to
help him understand
and explained his life.
“Each of us was in your
life for a reason. You may
not have known the reason
at that time, and that is
what heaven is for For understanding your
life on earth….”
“This is the greatest
gift God can give you: To
understand what happened
in your life. To have it
explained.” The Blue Man
explained.
The five people were
the Blue Man,
the Captain,
Ruby,
his wife Marguerite
and Tala.
They might be Eddie’s
old friends,
his loved one,
or strangers Eddie have
never met or heard of.
However, in the
most unexpected
ways, all lives
intersect..
They told him their
stories, to help
Eddie understand
the true meaning of
his life.
• The Blue Man
The first person Eddie
meets in heaven. He was a
sideshow worker at Ruby
Pier when Eddie was a
child. He was killed as a
result of Eddie running in
the street after his ball.
The Blue Man teaches
Eddie his first lesson,
which is that there are
no random acts in life,
and that all incidents are
intertwined in some way.
• The Captain
The second person Eddie
meets in heaven; his former
war captain.
He explained that,
although he shot Eddie, he
kept his promise by not
leaving him behind and even
sacrificed his life so Eddie
and two other soldiers were
able to live.
He also teaches Eddie
that when one loses
something, they often gain
something else.
Ruby
The third person Eddie
meets in heaven and also
Ruby Pier's namesake.
She teaches Eddie
to let go of his anger
and to forgive his
father for the
damage he caused in
his life.
Marguerite
Eddie’s wife and only
true love. Marguerite
was the only
happiness in Eddie's
life.
She is the fourth
person he meets in
heaven.
She teaches him the
lesson that love is not
lost with death.
Tala
The fifth person Eddie
meets in heaven. Tala was the
little girl who Eddie saw
crawling into the burning fort
during the war. Although he
lived most of his life in denial,
he finds out in heaven that he
did kill her in the fire.
She teaches Eddie that
his life did have a purpose
which was to keep children
safe at the pier.
Themes
There are no random
acts in life
Eddie learns from the Blue Man
that there are no random acts in
life. All lives intertwine in some
way.
If Eddie’s ball had never
gone into the street, he
would not have chased after
it, running in front of the
Blue Man’s car. Thus, the
Blue Man would not have
been got into an accident
and killed.
“We are all connected. That you
can no more separate one life
from another than you can
separate a breeze from the
wind.” the Blue Man said,
“strangers are just family you
have yet to come to know.”
Lives are sacrificed to
save others
During WWII Eddie's
Captain sacrificed his life
for the sake of the three
other soldiers.
As they were
escaping in a vehicle, they
came across a suspicious
area.
When the
Captain got out of the
vehicle to inspect the
land he was killed by
stepping on a land mine.
Though the Captain
died, his sacrifice saved
the other soldiers.
Forgiveness and Letting go
of Anger
Eddie hated his father for
ruining his life. Even after his
father's death, Eddie could
never seem to let go of the
anger he held towards his
father.
In fact, Eddie was so
angry with his father
after his death, that it
seemed to still ruin
Eddie's happiness.
Ruby teaches
Eddie to let go of his
anger and to forgive
his father.
The Power of Love
Although Eddie was
miserable throughout most of
his life, his love for
Marguerite was the only thing
that made him happier. After
she died, Eddie felt extremely
empty without her.
• When he meets Marguerite
in heaven she explains to
him that, even after her
death, she had always loved
Eddie. Eddie learns that
although life ends love
endures.
There are no regrets
in life, just lessons
to be learnt.