Have a Little Faith: A True Story [Deckle Edge] [Hardcover]

Mitch Albom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 29, 2009

"Clear some space on your bookshelf for Mitch Albom's, Have a Little Faith, the story of a faith journey that could become a classic. Those who were born into faith, have lost faith, or are still searching will all be engaged and challenged by this powerful story of "finding faith" in relationships with others and with something greater than ourselves. Never satisfied with easy answers or soft platitudes, Mitch explores some of life's greatest mysteries and unanswered questions with great honesty, depth and self reflection. "
--Jim Wallis, CEO and Founder of Sojourners and author of The Great Awakening

What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together?

In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight-year journey between two worlds--two men, two faiths, two communities--that will inspire readers everywhere.

Albom's first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have a Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an eighty-two-year-old rabbi from Albom's old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he'd left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor--a reformed drug dealer and convict--who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.

Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Albom observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.

As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Albom and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers, and histories are different, Albom begins to recognize a striking unity between the two worlds--and indeed, between beliefs everywhere.

In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor's wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the rabbi's last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.

Have a Little Faith is a book about a life's purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man's journey, but it is everyone's story.

Ten percent of the profits from this book will go to charity, including The Hole In The Roof Foundation, which helps refurbish places of worship that aid the homeless.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Albom delivers a command audio performance. He brings his two clergymen-protagonists-an elderly rabbi from Albom's home synagogue and an African-American pastor leading a ministry to Detroit's homeless population-to vivid life and conveys their messages of faith with sensitivity and respect. The audio's most memorable moments feature the humility-and eccentricity-of the two spiritual leaders who, despite their deep religious commitment, refuse to be placed on a pedestal. From the ail-ing Jewish leader breaking out into whimsical songs in the middle of his grueling medical treatments and his Christian counterpart savoring the joys of barbecuing, Albom's characterizations brim with humor and compassion. A Hyperion hardcover. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

About the Author

Mitch Albom is an author, playwright, journalist, and screenwriter who has written six books, including the international bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time. His first two novels, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day, were instant number-one New York Times bestsellers. All three books were made into acclaimed TV films. Mitch oversees three charities in Detroit. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (September 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786868724
• ISBN-13: 978-0786868728
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (331 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism

More About the Author

MITCH ALBOM is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 28 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.

He is the author of ten books, including the newest, "Have a Little Faith. His first novel, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", (9/03) is the most successful U.S. hardback first novel ever and has to date sold over 11 million copies worldwide. "Tuesdays With Morrie," (1997) his chronicle of time spent with a beloved but dying college professor, spent four years on the NY Times bestsellers list and is now the most successful memoir ever published. His three best sellers, including For One More Day (9/06) have been turned into successful TV movies. Oprah Winfrey produced the film version of Tuesdays With Morrie in December 1999, starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria. The film garnered four Emmy awards, including best TV film, director, actor and supporting actor. The critically acclaimed Five People You Meet in Heaven aired on ABC in winter, 2004. Directed by Lloyd Kramer, the film was the most watched TV movie of the year, with 19 million viewers. Most recently, Oprah Winfrey Presents Mitch Albom's For One More Day aired on ABC in December 2007 and earned Ellen Burstyn a Screen Actors Guild nomination.

An award-winning journalist and radio host, Albom wrote the screenplay for both For One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and is an established playwright, having authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version of Tuesdays With Morrie (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) which has seen over one hundred productions across the US and Canada.

Albom has founded three charities in the metropolitan Detroit area: "The Dream Fund," "A Time To Help," and "S.A.Y Detroit." Albom devoted an area of his website, www.mitchalbom.com/service , to hosting a directory of local and national service opportunities. He also raises money for literacy projects through a variety of means including his performances with The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of writers which includes Steven King, Dave Barry, Scott Turow, Amy Tan and Ridley Pearson. Albom serves on the boards of various charities and, in 1999, was named National Hospice Organization's Man of the Year.

He lives with his wife, Janine, in Detroit, MI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

142 of 148 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just a Little Faith, October 14, 2009

By 

Larry Underwood "Author - St Louis Cardinals ... (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Have a Little Faith: A True Story (Hardcover)

Mitch Albom has been one of my favorite sportswriters for years; his style is eloquent, yet concise and very witty. His words are well-chosen when he writes and this particular effort is no exception. It's terrific.

This is a remarkable, true story of contrast, of two men of God; one an aging rabbi, and the other, an African American pastor working in a ghetto. Two men---two different faiths; two entirely different backgrounds. In the end, the message is clear: Faith ties us closely together and can give us the chance to accomplish things we never dreamed possible.

Albom's anecdotal tale of his own personal experience with faith---losing it and regaining it---carries an inspirational message for anyone, regardless of religious affiliation, or lack thereof. We come away with a better understanding of how life can be so meaningful, if we'll only give it a chance.

Read this book; you'll be moved, as I was.

91 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Agnostic Has Hope, October 30, 2009

By 

L. Charles Wimer III (Coatesville, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Have a Little Faith CD (Audio CD)

As an agnostic, a book titled Have a Little Faith had so little interest to me. But since Mitch Albom is my favorite author I figured how bad can it be and if I read it with an open mind, just maybe I'd be able to get something from it. Clearly, I made the right choice. Like all of Mitch's books, Have a Little Faith is brilliantly written. He captures the reader from page one and takes the reader on his journey with a dying rabbi (Reb) and a man who turns his life around (Henry). The only bond between the two is there faith in God -- one being Jewish and the other being Christian. In between a couple of other characters are introduced -- particularly Cass who has a beautifully defined role in the story. This book does not preach nor does it favor either religion. It merely suggests (as it does to Mitch) to look at yourself and perhaps refocus on the important things in life -- whether it be family, friends or faith. In a time where the world seems to be in a frenzy -- loving one another doesn't seem like a bad thing.

Mitch: please keep turning out these masterpieces.

151 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading This Book Should be One of the Requirements of Life, October 7, 2009

By 

Edward P. Kinsey "Prolific Writer" (Silicon Valley, California USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Have a Little Faith: A True Story (Hardcover)

This is one of the only books that I've ever read that I couldn't put down! Really! If it had not been for the normal demands of life I would have finished it in one sitting. Instead, I had to put it down for an evening and spend the next day waiting to be able to get my hands on it to finish it. Mitch Albom is blessed with an incredible ability to capture thoughts and stories that touch the soul. Have a Little Faith is one of the books that should be required reading for life; particularly now with so much going on in the world around us. His conversations with two great, yet unknown, men of God are lessons in how to deal with the normal challenges and struggles of life. Don't read this book if you're afraid to feel the urge to shed a few tears of joys but read this book if you want to understand the answers to the questions that you ponder daily from the perspective of two men who have answered them from paths of life that, although divergent, were filled with experiences that captured the essence of what life is all about.