Tuesdays with Morrie explained
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] 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.
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,[2] and was, as of 2006, the best-selling memoir of all time.
Synopsis
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, divided into 14 different days, recounts each of Albom's fourteen 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.
Main characters
Mitch Albom
See main article: Mitch Albom. Mitch Albom was born in May 1958 in New Jersey. Originally, he was a pianist and wanted to pursue a life as a musician. Instead, Albom became a journalist and later an author, screenwriter, and television/radio broadcaster In college, he met sociology professor Dr. Morrie Schwartz, who would later be the focal point of the memoir Tuesdays with Morrie.
Morrie Schwartz
See 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.[3] 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. 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. This is where Schwartz met his student Mitch Albom, who would later become a lifelong friend. Schwartz was married to Charlotte Schwartz, with whom he had two children. After a long battle with ALS, Schwartz died on November 4, 1995. His tombstone reads, "A teacher until the end."
The Boston Globe and Nightline antecedents
In March 1995, Jack Thomas of The Boston Globe wrote a piece on Schwartz, titled "A Professor's Final Course: His Own Death."[4] [5] 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.[6] [7] [8] 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.[8]
Reception
Popular
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. In July 2006, Tuesdays with Morrie was the best selling memoir of all time.
Critical
Albom's book has been widely reviewed since its appearance in 1997.[9]
Popular culture
In Season 8, Episode 20 ("Something Something Darkside") of Family Guy, Peter Griffin, playing the character of Han Solo, is seen reading the book.
Publication history
Other editions
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.[10]
Adaptations
The book was adapted into a 1999 television film directed by Mick Jackson, starring Jack Lemmon.[11] 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.[12]
See also
Articles on other Albom books
Further reading
- Koppel, Ted & Albom, Mitch . July 14, 1998 . Morrie: A Man Teaches Others How to Live and Die . . May 22, 2023 . Koppel and Albom discuss the origin of their individual relationships with the late Prof. Morrie Schwartz.
- Managed Care Staff . 2006 . Tuesdays with Morrie. Managed Care . Langhorne, PA . 11 . 2 (Suppl.). 31–3 . 11907999 . May 22, 2023. Value of this reference is unknown, as it has no online content whatsoever; it may be to a review of the work, or to a list posting to call attention to the new audio edition.
- Book: Albom, Mitch . Tuesdays with Morrie . Books on Tape . 9780739346150 . 1002100368 . This citation, when verified and complete, would better appear in the Publication history section.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: DePauw Staff . July 20, 2006 . Bestselling Author of Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom, to Present Ubben Lecture November 13 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151009201108/https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/17795/ . October 9, 2015 . May 22, 2023 . . en.
- News: Rich . Motoko . 2006-08-07 . Starbucks to Feature Mitch Albom’s New Novel . 2024-08-02 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
- News: Brooks . Rich . ALS forced two men to make different choices, and both are valid . January 1, 2024 . Herald-Tribune . Sarasota Herald-Tribune . May 14, 2005.
- News: Thomas, Jack . March 9, 1995 . A Professor's Final Course: His Own Death . BostonGlobe.com (Living section) . subscription . 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.
- News: Harris, Richard . March 15, 2015 . Nearly 20 years After His Death, Morrie Schwartz Lives On . . subscription . May 22, 2023 .
- Koppel Ted & Schwartz, Morrie . March 1995 . Conversations with Morrie: Lessons on Living . . YouTube.com . May 22, 2023. 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.
- Koppel, Ted & Albom, Mitch . July 14, 1998 . Morrie: A Man Teaches Others How to Live and Die . . May 22, 2023 .
- Web site: Albom, Mitch . November 21, 2008 . Professor Turns Dying into a Final Lesson . . MitchAlbom.com . May 22, 2023.
- Web site: de Botton, Alain . November 23, 1997 . Continuing Ed . book review . . 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..
- Book: Albom, Mitch . Tuesdays with Morrie: 20th Anniversary Edition Audible Logo Audible Audiobook – Unabridged . Random House Audio . ASIN B000XSAY4Q . October 18, 2007 .
- Web site: Shriver, Ryan . 2010 . Tuesdays With Morrie (1999)—Directed by: Mick Jackson . film overview . . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140324194753/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/184410/Tuesdays-With-Morrie/overview . March 24, 2014 . Note, this source contains no information about the 1997 book.
- Web site: Buchwald . Linda . Tony Winner Len Cariou to Star in Off-Broadway Run of Tuesdays with Morrie . Theatermania . January 29, 2024.
