Tuesdays with Morrie

I just finished Tuesdays with Morrie two nights ago and can't say enough good things about it. Thanks Laurie for the great recommendation. Reading it made me miss my days as a first-year undergrad student at St. Thomas University where I was encouraged to think and reflect on a daily basis on everyday things - something that really isn't encouraged in the same way at the more science-based university where I am now.


This book is made up of several small chapters where each focuses on a weekly (every Tuesday) conversation between the author and Morrie Schwartz - a sociology professor suffering from ALS. They talk about forgiveness, family, love, culture and eventually dealing with death. The book isn't exactly deep in terms of philosophy but a number of things that Morrie says in the book really made me think. In fact, when I read this book again, I think I'll keep a journal with me to jot down some of the things that he says that really speak to me.

At one point, the topic of conversation is the impact of culture on our happiness and satisfaction in life. It seems that lately (especially with the current economic situation) there is such a focus on money and how it makes us happy or unhappy with our lives. In the book, Morrie really stresses that its our culture that can make us feel insufficient and that we can reject that culture if we want our lives to be different... This definitely resonated with me, and its stayed on my mind lately... specifically, that we need to focus more on the things that matter in life. I know, I know... kind of cliche right, but surprisingly, even through the lens of dying, Tuesdays with Morrie was able to portray this message in a refreshing way! I'd definitely recommend it!!