Here’s a book that I heard about, but never really got the desire to read until recently: Tuesdays with Morrie. Apparently, the book’s a lot more famous than I thought – there’s a made-for-TV movie and stage adaptation, all based on what I found to be, essentially, a self-help book.
For those of you who may not have read it (or seen it, or had someone gush about it to you), Tuesdays with Morrie is the true story of Mitch Albom (also the book’s writer), a business-minded yuppie, who reconnects with Morris Schwartz, one of his old college professors, a few months before the latter dies from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Mitch visits Morrie weekly for several months, gleaning the last kernels of wisdom from his teacher as the disease slowly takes its toll. After Morrie dies from the illness (spoiler alert, or something), Mitch decides to take some of Morrie’s advice to heart and reconnects with an estranged sibling.
Now that I’ve written it, the plot synopsis seems pretty unnecessary. The real reason to read Tuesdays with Morrie is to hear Morrie’s advice – the things he considers most important now that he’s dying. Morrie’s philosophy is that, when one learns how to die, one learns how to live. Accept death with grace, and fear seems to slip away.
For me, the money quote that sums up the whole book comes when Morrie starts talking about people with materialistic aims – those always spending their time and money acquiring the newest, latest, and greatest things.
"These were people so hungry for love that they were accepting substitutes. They were embracing material things and expecting a sort of hug back… Money is not a substitute for tenderness, and power is not a substitute for tenderness. I can tell you, as I’m sitting here dying, when you most need it, neither money nor power will give you the feeling you’re looking for, no matter how much of them you have. "
Morrie’s ultimate ambition is the “pursuit of tenderness,” or the human connection. That’s the one thing that makes life worth living, and people whose attitude prevents them from making that connection often still strive to FIND that connection, although likely in other places where they never can. Because money doesn’t hug.
Here’s a side note – my personal response to the book. Morrie comments on society looking upon “tenderness” and “emotional connection” as signs of weakness. At first, when I read that, I thought, “Yeah, that’s pretty weak.” Then, as I thought about it a bit more, I realized that I didn’t think of that trait as being WEAK, per se, but rather as FEMININE. Which probably makes me horribly sexist or something.
Anyway, I actually quite enjoyed this book. I found the plot to be overly sentimental… which is a horrible thing to say, especially since I’m talking about a real person’s reaction to an actual, historical death. Since I’ve never really gone through that experience myself, I didn’t have a lot to connect to there. Also, I probably just need a bit more time to grow up and connect to my icky, icky feelings.
All irreverence aside now, Tuesdays with Morrie may be one of those “life-altering” books which changes the way you think. I’ve already found myself thinking of ways I can be less materialistic and cultivate better relationships with other people. No matter how much the “plot” bores you, a book that can do that is always worth the read.
PS: I’m probably going to hell for this whole thing.
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