Tuesdays with Morrie, written by Mitch Albom, is a memoir recounting his reconnection with his former college professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is battling ALS(amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). As Mitch finds himself drifting from his former passionate self to a discontented individual, Morrie's illness serves as a catalyst for their reunion. Through their weekly Tuesday gatherings, Morrie shares lessons with Mitch about life, love, and death.
To be candid, Tuesdays with Morrie didn't have the transformative impact on me that I anticipated. Despite hearing that Morrie's philosophy would reshape my outlook on life, I found it overly simplistic and somewhat pseudo-intellectual. However, my admiration for Morrie Schwartz as a person and educator remains undiminished; his kindness and gentle demeanor left a lasting impression on me. While I felt a genuine connection between Morrie and Mitch, shedding a few tears upon Morrie's passing, the emotional resonance didn't linger as it does with truly impactful reads.
Morrie's philosophy, involved phrases like "Love each other or die," which struck me as overly idealistic and naive. His philosophy appears the easy way out. Why? Well, life just isn’t that easy to navigate. Life, in my opinion, is far more nuanced than his simplistic statement suggests. To be frank, life doesn’t consist of two options, it also contains all the gaps in between. We need to consider the variety of emotions, the process, the environment, and the people! Our worlds are full of intricacies that take time and effort to solve, and Morrie did not account for that.
Ultimately, perhaps my high expectations played a role in my disappointment, but even without them, I believe my assessment of the book would have been similar. Of course, others may have differing views, and this is just my perspective. Hence, I rate the memoir 2 stars.