10 Inspiring Mitch Albom Books that Tackle Life and Loss

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Since his debut memoir Tuesdays with Morrie was released in 1997, Mitch Albom’s books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide.

His inspirational works, which include both memoirs and fictional novels, have struck a chord with readers everywhere, and even viewers thanks to four successful television adaptations.

In this post, we’ve rounded up 10 of Mitch Albom’s most inspirational books that deal with faith, humanity, and kindness.

Mitch Albom Books

Here are 10 of Mitch Albom’s most inspiring books, ranked based on Goodreads ratings.

1. Tuesdays with Morrie

In this bestselling memoir, Albom documents the rekindling of his friendship with a college professor from nearly 20 years ago.

He reconnects with Morrie Schwartz in the final months of the older man’s life. As he gradually dies of ALS, Morrie meets with Mitch each Tuesday in his study, just as they did when Mitch was in college.

Each meeting turns into a class, with Morrie sharing his most valuable lessons in how to live.

2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Eddie is a wounded veteran who believes he’s led, for the most part, an uninspired life. He works at a seaside amusement park, fixing rides.

On his 83rd birthday, Eddie is tragically killed while trying to save a little girl from a falling cart. In the afterlife, he learns that heaven is not a destination, but a place where your life is explained to you by five people—some you knew, some who may be strangers.

Each of Eddie’s five people recount their connections to him on earth, from his childhood to his soldier years to his old age, illuminating the mysteries of Eddie’s “meaningless” life.

3. For One More Day

As a child, Charles “Chick” Benetto was forced to make the difficult decision of choosing between his mother and father when they divorced.

He chose his father, only to watch the man disappear before reaching adolescence. Decades later, Charley’s life is in pieces, crumbled by alcohol and regret. After losing his job and leaving his family, Charley hits rock bottom after learning his only daughter has excluded him from her wedding. This prompts Charley to drive back to his hometown and attempt to take his own life.

But upon failing, Charley staggers back to his old house to find his mother, who died eight years earlier, but welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened. Charley gets what so many of us wish for—one more day with a lost loved one.

4. The Time Keeper

In this novel, the inventor of the world’s first clock—Father Time—is banished to a cave for trying to measure God’s greatest gift. There, he’s forced to listen to the voices of all who come to seek more days and years.

Finally, with his soul now nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a chance to redeem himself by teaching two people the true meaning of time: a teenage girl about to give up on life, and a wealthy businessman who wants to live forever. For Father Time to save himself, he must save them both.

5. Have a Little Faith: A True Story

This nonfiction book begins with an unusual request for Albom when an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the rabbi better, which brings him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago.

Meanwhile, he also becomes involved with a Detroit pastor, who’s also a reformed drug dealer and convict, as he preaches to the poor in a decaying church.

Moving between the worlds of Christian and Jewish, Black and white, Albom observes how these very different men rely on faith in their fight for survival.

6. The First Phone Call from Heaven

One morning in Coldwater, Michigan, the phones start ringing with voices that claim to be calling from heaven. But is this a miracle, or merely a cruel hoax?

As news of these calls spreads, outsiders flock to Coldwater to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon firsthand.

Among those visiting is disgraced pilot Sully Harding, who returns to Coldwater from prison to find his hometown caught up in a frenzy.

It seems that Sully is the only one still convinced there is nothing beyond his sad life, so he tries to disprove it for his child and his own broken heart.

7. The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

In this sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom shares the story of Annie, the young girl Eddie gave his life to save.

Scarred and haunted by something she doesn’t remember, Annie’s life is forever changed when her guilt-ravaged mother whisks her away from the only world she knew.

As Annie grows, she struggles to find acceptance. As a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, eventually marrying her childhood love.

But when her wedding day ends in tragedy, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey and an inevitable reunion with Eddie, one of her own five people who will show her how her life mattered.

8. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

The voice of Music narrates this powerful tale about Frankie Presto, a war orphan with a unique talent that changes people’s lives using six mysterious blue strings.

Frankie journeys through the musical landscape of the twentieth century, from 1950s jazz to Elvis mania and Woodstock, all while searching for his childhood love.

As Frankie becomes a star, he loses his way, until tragedy takes the very gift that had so defined him. Devastated, Frankie disappears for decades, reemerging late in life for a spectacular but mystifying farewell.

9. The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Ten survivors of a deadly ship explosion float adrift in a raft. After three days pass and their supplies and hope dwindle, they find a man floating in the waves and pull him in.

This mysterious man claims to be the Lord. But is he really who he claims to be? This unique work explores what happens when God himself answers our calls.

10. Finding Chika

In another moving memoir, Albom tells the story of Chika Jeune, the Haitian orphan born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated her country in 2010.

With no children of their own, the more than 40 children of the orphanage become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. But at age five, Chika is diagnosed with something a doctor there says cannot be treated in Haiti.

So, the couple brings Chika to Detroit for medical care, but soon becomes a permanent part of their lives and shows them what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is formed.

Is Tuesdays with Morrie a True Story?

Tuesdays with Morrie is indeed a true story. It is Albom’s memoir about his own experience reconnecting with a college professor, Morrie, who was gradually dying of ALS, and their weekly meetings that turned out to be Morrie’s most valuable lessons.

Inspiring Books by Mitch Album

Mitch Albom writes inspiring, moving books that address themes related to love, loss, faith, and life. You can find guiding questions and more for an insightful reading experience on Albom’s website.

If you enjoy Albom’s work, you may also want to check out our lists of books like The Alchemist and books to read before college for more powerful and poignant life lessons.

Do you have a favorite Mitch Albom book? Tell us about it in the comments below!

 

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