Book Review: Tuesdays with Morrie

Sheer coincidence that I completed this book just we are in the midst of a horrific global pandemic. Hustling all the time and striving for more & more worldly possessions, we forget the harsh realities and fundamental truths of life. Morrie, a 70 something professor gripped by the terminal and brutal disease ALS with only a few months to live, spends every Tuesday with his former student Mitch, talking about love, self-pity, emotions, family, money, marriage, culture, forgiveness and death.

Morrie highlights the importance of being aware of your mortality and appreciating the feeling of being alive. You can do all you want to be as healthy as possible(and you should do so), but your blood, genetics, DNA, future accidents and things like the current pandemic are all beyond your control- whether you are 10 or 70.

Stop battling against getting older(you are anyway going to get older). Stop chasing the wrong things. Move away from the over consumption culture. Get meaning in your life by devoting yourself to loving others, giving back to the community and create something that gives you meaning and purpose.

Some phrases from this book will stay on with me:

“Everyone knows they are going to die but nobody believes it”

“Detachment doesn’t mean you don’t let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That’s how you are able to leave it”

“The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live”

“The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it”

This is indeed a book that will make you laugh out loud and also make you cry like a baby. If you haven’t read it yet, please do make “Tuesdays with Morrie” your next read.