Wisdom from the Five People You Meet in Heaven (Popular Insights) [Paperback]

Brandon Gilvin (Author), Rev. Heather Godsey (Author)

Book Description

Series: Popular Insights | Publication Date: January 2005

This study guide uses the wisdom traditions of the Bible as a backdrop for discussion of Mitch Albom's popular novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Hyperion, 2003) to discuss what the Bible has to teach us about living. Wisdom from The Five People You Meet in Heaven parallels the characters of Albom's novel with themes and insights from wisdom literature to explore its orientation toward life and what we can learn about forgiveness, sacrifice, love, suffering, and our own character.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Does popular fiction have anything to teach us about what it means to live as Christians? Can we gain insights into who we are as children of God from a novel? In the Popular Insights series, novels are more than entertainment. They are an entry into theological discussions, bible and church history, scripture, and new understandings of ourselves and how we live in community. Written for individual reflection or group discussion, Popular Insights draws on today’s most popular novels to explore biblical truths, popular beliefs, and personal faith.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Chalice Press (January 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0827230257
• ISBN-13: 978-0827230255
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,081,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A useful and insightful guide..., February 4, 2005

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wisdom from the Five People You Meet in Heaven (Popular Insights) (Paperback)

Heaven is a very personal place. The visions of heaven from various religious traditions tap into hopes (and fears) of people past and present, but ultimately, just as the world is different for each of us, so too must heaven be. Throughout this difference, however, is a question that is perhaps one of the more universal longings in the history of humanity - the quest to find the meaning of life, and the meaning of our lives in particular. It is this longing that Mitch Albom, best known prior to this book for his wonderful writing in `Tuesdays with Morrie'.

This book, `Wisdom from The Five People You Meet In Heaven', by Brandon Gilvin and Heather Godsey, draws upon Albom's book, elaborating in brief form some of the primary lessons Eddie, the main character, learns in his journey from earth to heaven.

The tale begins at the end, not the beginning. Of course, in life, every ending is a beginning of some sort. The end here is the end of Eddie's life - Eddie, a veteran who has gone through times of trouble and tragedy as well as times of joy and optimism, didn't have the life he wanted. Like most people, what Eddie wanted shifted over time, and even when he got what he wanted, it was somehow lacking, or disappointing; on the other hand, there were unexpected things.

Eddie got married, but as with most marriages, it didn't always live up to the dream of the initial love. However, his wife Marguerite remained the love of Eddie's life, and she was one of the five people he met in heaven. This was his closest relationship, but not the only important relationship in his life.

Perhaps drawing on the idea of six degrees of separation, there are people connected to Eddie who are companion guides in heaven that Eddie didn't even realise he was connected to. There is the Blue Man, the side-show freak at the amusement park where Eddie worked; there was the captain from his military days; there was Ruby, for whom Ruby Pier, the amusement park's location, was named; and then there is final person, one that Eddie only knew as a shadow on earth, but who has the biggest impact, and is the one whose hands offer a very touching form of salvation.

Each person has insights and lessons to share with Eddie. Sometimes they reinterpret the events of Eddie's life; sometimes they simply share their sides of the story, that give a fullness to the narrative of life. This is no easy glossing over of reality - none of the characters attempt to explain how, at the heart of it, life really is fair. Indeed, the Blue Man explains in no uncertain terms that life is not fair, stating that if it were, `no good person would ever die young.'

Gilvin and Godsey draw a lot of wisdom from Albom's work and relate it to the Wisdom tradition of biblical literature. Gilvin and Godsey found this relationship to be very appropriate, given the kinds of wisdom being imparted by the five people to Eddie in Albom's book, and the kind of practical and philosophical wisdom in combination being imparted by books such as Proverbs, Ecclesiates, Song of Solomon (Song of Songs) and Job.

As Gilvin and Godsey state, Albom's primary task in this book is not to present a description of heaven, either in a physical sense (`streets paved with gold' sort of thing) or even in a spiritual habitation sense; Albom's work is more along the lines of `The Heavenly Village' by Cynthia Rylant, in that it is more of a place or part of the journey where things on earth get put into new perspective and context. `It lies with answering ultimate questions as to why we live and what we live for,' according to the authors, which is also what the Wisdom literature tradition in the biblical texts also strive to do.

Gilvin and Godsey relate the five individuals to specific textual passages in the Wisdom literature, and develop the different themes well. This is a book good for personal enrichment and meditation, as well as for those of us who are called upon to deliver a homily now and again. For example, Eddie's relationship and encounter with his wife Marguerite relates to the Song of Solomon, both in terms of physical passion and love as well as spiritual connectedness; Eddie's relationship with his past actions are likened to Job in effective manner - the current that finally carries Eddie away is like a whirlwind, but the voice that comes is both realistic and redeeming.

Useful as a study guide for those who will devote reading group or Bible study time to the work `The Five People We Meet In Heaven', this volume offers conversation questions and suggestions for further readings. Useful for individual study as well, this is a great companion text to use for reading and meditating upon Albom's work.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, September 18, 2010

By 

David - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wisdom from the Five People You Meet in Heaven (Popular Insights) (Paperback)

Great book from page one to the end. Hard to put down. Can't wait until you reach the end

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too deep and confusing, June 16, 2006

By 

Stephanie Bailey (Buena Vista, CO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wisdom from the Five People You Meet in Heaven (Popular Insights) (Paperback)

I got this book for my step-mom for Christmas thinking she would get a lot out of it. She is a deeply spiritual woman and loves the original book, The Five People You Meet In Heaven.

This book isn't extremely long, so I Figured she would have it completed in only a few days. I asked her what she thought of it and said she only got a few pages into it. She says the book is extremely dry and hard to get into.

Once she was a little further into the book, she said the concepts described went way over her head and she didn't really understand how it related to the original book.

I guess this is more of a textbook type reading and not a novel. Not for someone who wants a quick read while learning something.