faithwalan 's review for:

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

4.25

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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SO GOOD

Because we embrace our scars more than our healing. [...] We can recall the exact day we got hurt, but who remembers the day the wound was gone?

Have you ever considered how many living things there are on earth? [...] People. Animals. Birds. Fish. Trees. It makes you wonder how anyone could feel lonely. Yet humans do. It's a shame

I needed to save you. It let me make up for the life I took. That's how salvation works. The wrongs we do open doors to do right.

The end of loneliness is when someone needs you. And the world is so full of need.

Remember this, Annie. When we build, we build on the shoulders of those who came before us. And when we fall apart, those who came before us help put us back together.

Did you know," the old woman said now, standing beside the grown-up Annie, "that a dog will go to a crying human before a smiling one? Dogs get sad when people around them get sad . They're created that way. It's called 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.