The Next Person You Meet in Heaven (The Five People You Meet in Heaven #2)
Published October 9th 2018 by Harper, Kindle Edition 218 pages
In this enchanting sequel to the number one bestseller The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom tells the story of Eddie’s heavenly reunion with Annie—the little girl he saved on earth—in an unforgettable novel of how our lives and losses intersect.
Fifteen years ago, in Mitch Albom’s beloved novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the world fell in love with Eddie, a grizzled war veteran- turned-amusement park mechanic who died saving the life of a young girl named Annie. Eddie’s journey to heaven taught him that every life matters. Now, in this magical sequel, Mitch Albom reveals Annie’s story.
The accident that killed Eddie left an indelible mark on Annie. It took her left hand, which needed to be surgically reattached. Injured, scarred, and unable to remember why, Annie’s life is forever changed by a guilt-ravaged mother who whisks her away from the world she knew. Bullied by her peers and haunted by something she cannot recall, Annie struggles to find acceptance as she grows. When, as a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, her childhood love, she believes she has finally found happiness.
As the novel opens, Annie is marrying Paulo. But when her wedding night day ends in an unimaginable accident, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey—and an inevitable reunion with Eddie, one of the five people who will show her how her life mattered in ways she could not have fathomed.
Poignant and beautiful, filled with unexpected twists, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven reminds us that not only does every life matter, but that every ending is also a beginning—we only need to open our eyes to see it.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
"At certain moments, when death is close, the veils pull back between this world and the next. Heaven and Earth overlay. When they do, it is possible to glimpse certain souls already departed. You can see them awaiting your arrival. And they can see you coming." 💖 Mitch Albom is one of my favourite authors. He manages to make the mundane parts of life magical and heart warming.
I absolutely love The Five People You Meet in Heaven and this is set up as a sequel to that one. We follow Annie, the young girl whose life was saved by Eddie that day on the pier.
Since that day in her childhood, Annie's life has been rough. Her mum was constantly off with boyfriends, and set Annie really strict rules on not leaving the house, and socializing in an effort to protect her.
"No act done for someone else is ever wasted." I won't give away much because of spoilers, but as it states in the blurb, on Annie's wedding night, her life is changed forever, and she dies.
As expected she meets her five people in heaven. Five people she may or may not know who have altered her life in some way.
I enjoyed venturing back into Mitch Albom's work, and although it wasn't as wonderful (at least to me) as The Five People You Meet in Heaven I found it touching, and would recommend to others who have enjoyed book 1.
All endings are also beginnings, we just don't know it at the time."
Rating: really liked it
Another thought provoking story from a truly amazing writer!!! I have read just about all of Albom's books and everyone one of them has opened my heart and left me with that feel good vibe. This follow up from his early book The five people you meet in heaven was superbly written. Albom knows how to tap into characters that are so beautifully broken and yet have strength and depth that the reader can identify with. He continues to give me hope that their is more to life then what we know and every person that enters are life whether good or bad teaches us something and is part of our soul's journey. If you haven't read one of his books,I highly recommend checking out his body of work!! I've been a big fan since reading Tuesday's with Morrie. Until next time Luv's💖💋
The tale of your life is written second by second, as shifting as the flip of a pencil to an eraser. There are so many times our lives are altered invisibly. The flip of a pencil, from written to erased.””
Rating: really liked it
4 bold stars to The Next Person You Meet in Heaven!Everyone wanted a sequel to one of the most beloved books, and Mitch Albom has delivered!
Briefly, to set the stage, in The Five People You Meet in Heaven, we met Eddie, a rough and gruff war veteran turned mechanic who passed away in the act of saving a little girl named Annie. Eddie’s trip to heaven involved questions and answers about the meaning of life.
In this follow-up, Annie’s story is told.
After the accident that took Eddie’s life, Annie has visible scars but no memory of what happened. Not only does she have memory loss, she is haunted by what the truth may reveal. It consumes her.
Annie later becomes an adult and is about to be married when another accident occurs leaving her on a journey to heaven where she reunites with Eddie. He shares what he has learned about life with Annie.
An emotionally-charged and beautifully-written read and filled with clever twists, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven is a huggable book with important lessons for us all. I took away a reminder of that old saying: when one door closes, a window opens in its place.
Filled with hope and all heart, Mitch Albom once again addresses the meaning of life and proves his point with flourish.
Thank you to Harper Books for the complimentary ARC. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
Rating: really liked it
4 uplifting stars
My reviews can be seen here: https://wordpress.com/post/yayareadsl...
I was once told in a college Philosophy course that we, as humans are made of energy. The professor then went on to say that energy can never be destroyed and asked us to form our own conclusions about what he had just said. As I read The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, I could not help but recall that professor and his words.
Perhaps we would all like to believe, well probably more to know, the existence of an afterlife, one where our joys would be unending and our sorrows and mistakes left behind. This is the place that Mitch Albom created for a girl named Annie and he takes us through her life with its sadness and misunderstandings, its hurts and recriminations. In Annie, we might possibly see our own life. We have all made mistakes, sins we would rather not remember, but they are there and at times we beat ourselves up as they flash through our minds and we think how awful we were.
As Annie learns, we can be forgiven. There are reasons why we are here that perhaps we never really thought about. There are people we have come across perhaps for only a minute of time that we have affected in a most positive manner and just like Annie we need to forgive ourselves. While we might have done bad things, we also might have done really wonderful things as well.
I do appreciate this most uplifting book. Sometimes a book can just be what you need and in this case with all the hatred and cruelty that seem to surround us today, this book offered me, along with a few tears, a port in a storm. There is never anything wrong with a book that gives you hope. Thank you Mr Albom for making me realize that.
Rating: really liked it
Felt much too strategically concocted!!!!
A quick follow up - whipped-up sequel to
“The Five People You Meet In Heaven”.
And for heaven’s sake...this sequel’s core premises is that ‘everything’ happens for a reason:
...we are all accepted -loved - forgiven
- there is always hope and love.
Flat hallmark writing. I was too cynical for it.
This little book kept me slightly entertained with my naughty scrooge critical mind while sitting on the airplane.
Not to worry - I criticized myself, too, for being aloof - cold - and harsh! I wish I was all flowery positive - but I’m not. I felt nothing....other than manipulated by calculated storytelling of ‘hope, heart & inspiration’!
1.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
In The Five People You Meet In Heaven, we meet Eddie, a grizzly old war veteran - turned amusement park maintenance man who died saving the life of a young girl called Annie. Now it's time for Annie's story in this sequel.
After Annie's accident, she had no memory of what had happened to her. She has been haunted by what the truth might reveal. Annie is now an adult and another accident finds her on her own journey to heaven where she will be reunited with Eddie. Annie's life has not been easy, but with the five people she meets in heaven, we find the reasons behind this.
I really enjoyed reading The Five People You Meet In Heaven so I was happy to see that Mitch Albom had written a sequel to it, but at the same time I was a little apprehensive. What if this book was not as good? What was I worried about, this book is just as good. I did rate the first book 5 stars but this book is a shorter story so that's the reason why I've just given it 4 stars. Mitch Albom knows how to write beautiful stories with marvellous characters. There is an underlying message in this story. This book can be read as a standalone but I do recommend you read The Five People You Meet In Heaven first.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group, UK and the author Mitch Albom for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
The reader has been crying so much the entire time. This book broke her.
(2021 favourite but it's breaking her heart into pieces... she's trying to recover from all the sadness.)
The book started like I was reading a fast-paced horror thriller! I was like "slow down and let me breath for a moment!"
And yes, I cried just into the first chapter. The story and the writing is that good.
The characters are quite relatable. When things go horribly wrong, we tend to be unforgiving about ourselves. It tends to feel like everything is our fault and we could have done things so much better.
And this book exactly portrays such a character.
The story follows what the title says. It's about the next five people the one who's leaving is going to meet and learn some important life lessons.
"When we build, we build on the shoulders of those who came before us. And when things fall apart, those who came before us help put us back together."
"...empathy. Humans have it, too. But it gets blocked by other things - ego, self-pity, thinking your own pain must be tended to first. Dogs don't have those issues."
(I miss our dogs so much.)
"We are blinded by our regrets. We don't realize who else we punish while we're punishing ourselves."
"What's time between a mother and her daughter? Never too much, never enough."
(This part made me really emotional and I just couldn't stop crying..it was difficult for me to continue reading the book.)
"We embrace our scars more than our healing."
(I need more healing. Enough of embracing my scars. I am tired.)
"You only have peace when you make it with yourself."
Warnings for domestic violence, abandonment, child neglect, graphic descriptions, cruelty towards animals, terminal illness, loss of a family member
Discussions on life and death, religion, broken families.
Rating: really liked it
As much as I loved book I - The Five People You Meet in Heaven, I could not connect with this one. I agree with other people who said that making a sequel to a very successful book wasn’t a good idea. This book feels forced.
Rating: really liked it
How did I not know a sequel was coming out to my favorite book of all time?
Rating: really liked it
“The Next Person” follows the formula of its predecessor, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven": melodramatic flashbacks, greeting-card homilies. But heaven has been spruced up since we were here last. Annie, the little girl from "Five People" is now a nurse who dies just a few hours after her wedding. She zooms around heaven's kaleidoscopic clouds by car, by train, by mattress on some kind of spiritual acid trip, while parts of her body fade in and out. Albom notes that “nobody can talk when they first arrive,” which probably helps cut down on the screaming as new souls realize they’ll spend eternity in this massive glob of cotton candy.
“The Next Person” is so packed with sweet aphorisms that it’s like scrolling through the Instagram account of a New Age masseuse. One minute, we’re told, “Forcing love is like picking a flower then insisting that it grow.” The next, “Just because you see things straight doesn’t mean you see them in time.” And unfortunately. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...
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Rating: really liked it
One of my favorites from Albom, along with The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.
Probably because I felt closer to the character, a young woman like me, I preferred this one to the first of the serie.
I liked how it was dramatic and beautiful at the same time. It was a short read and it felt like a page turner. The first third of the book was a 3-star for me and then it turned out
really good. I read it two weeks ago and when I closed it I wanted to rate it 4.5 stars. I now realize it's not as memorable as I thought it was when I finished it, but I really enjoyed it while I was reading it!
Finished on May 25th
Rating: really liked it
I’ve been an enormous fan of the work of Mitch Albom for a few years and I’ve read all of his books - each one has taught me different valuable life lessons, everything from finding that little bit of extra empathy for people, to really listening and finding understanding for what matters to us all individually.
He is just a wonderful, wonderful writer and so blessed as a story teller.
I have been eagerly awaiting The next person you meet in heaven ever since I heard it was being released this October - and it didn’t disappoint.
It stirred emotions in me that I haven’t felt since I read my last MA book - this guy is so gifted, and I don’t know how he does it, but I believe everything he writes, such is his power with words.
I’m agnostic but Mitch’s work makes me question what I believe about life, death and spirituality.
His work is highly emotive and he is just so real.
I loved this book as I knew I would, and I can’t wait to read whatever he blesses us with next.
An easy peasy 5 stars 🌟
Rating: really liked it
The Next Person You Meet in Heaven is a sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. I had not read the first book so I got a copy and read it first.
The story starts with the death of a young woman Annie who had been saved from a near fatal accident as a young girl. She then meets five people who tell her a story to explain to her the meaning of her life.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Aloha,
5 stars. Every grief journey is different. However, the endless questions grief bring is the same even if it a different shape.
I am seeking answers from everywhere. This book helps to answer several questions. I still have more but I better understand why and the next road to take with this book. One example I better understand now why some questions cannot be answered asap. I still will be searching. I cannot accept what happen not can I talk about it.
When a person is ready, this book could help. For grief should never be forced. All these reasons are why I give this book 5 stars. I recommend this book to everyone for it reminds a person to hold their loved ones closer and a reminder of how short life can be. I will be rereading this book.
I borrowed from the library. I will buy this book.
Mahalo,
RM
alwaysdaddygirl/alwaysdaddyprincess
I miss you, daddy! I hope you can read this somehow. I have to stop for tears are coming again. 💔😥😞🇺🇸🦋
Rating: really liked it
I ended up enjoying this very much on audiobook! - I started out thinking I may not enjoy his fiction as well as his nonfiction, but
now feel that Mitch Albom succeeds in his fiction writing by bringing enjoyment to people of many faith backgrounds and uniting them in that sense of enjoyment.
I love encountering glimpses of heaven in literature. I especially love those I have found in the writings of CS Lewis.
from The Last Battle book 7 Narnia:
The Pevensie kids get into Heaven, where you can run as fast as you like without getting tired and "there were forests and green slopes and sweet orchards and flashing waterfalls, one above the other, going on for ever.”
This Mitch Albom book certainly whetted my appetite for more, and that in itself is a spectacular reason for reading it.
Thank you, Christina, for recommending this one!
