Tuesdays with Morrie

Tuesdays with Morrie, written by Mitch Albom, is a story of the love between a man and his college professor, Morrie Schwartz. Tuesdays with Morrie was written as a true story in 1997.

They both met back at Brandeis University College in Waltham, MA. While attending Brandeis Mitch Albom, the student, became friends with Morrie Schwatz, the professor. Through the years after graduation Mitch and Morrie drifted apart. Mitch learns that Morrie is terminally ill it's at this point we are introduced to the creation of the title of the book. Mitch visits Morrie every Tuesday to talk about thirteen different topics of Mitch's choice. During these visits we are shown the several stages of death Morrie experienced. The book ends with the death and funeral of Morrie Schwartz.

Once Mitch learned of Morrie's illness, they began the last class of Morrie's life together and together tried to uncover "The Meaning of Life." These meetings included discussions on everything from the world when you enter it to the world when you say goodbye. Morrie Schwartz was a man of great wisdom who loved and enjoyed to see and experience simplicity in life, something beyond life's most challenging and unanswered mysteries. Morrie was a one of a kind teacher who taught Mitch about the most important thing anyone can ever learn: life. He taught Mitch about his culture, about trust, and perhaps most importantly, about how to live.

This book is also an intriguing description of an old mans battle with terminal illness. More specifically that man is suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); a disease that affects the neurological system. There is no cure for this disease, and the only good that can come out of having it is the chance to say goodbye. The chance to educate people on the meaning of life and the chance to give back what so many have given you, Morrie does exactly that, in this novel and in life. During Morrie and Mitch's meetings they agree to do a final thesis on Morrie's death. They meet on Tuesdays and discuss several different topics about life. Mitch films these sessions in hopes of being able to watch them after Morrie's passing, and to help him in writing this thesis.

Through out the book we can reference Erik Erikson and his stages of life. Morrie is in his last stage of developmental, Integrity vs. Despair and Mitch in the middle aged stage of development. Erikson observed that middle-age is when we tend to be occupied with creative and meaningful work and with issues surrounding our family. Also, middle adulthood is when we can expect to "be in charge," the role we've longed for.

The significant task is to accomplish society and transmit values of the society through the family and working to establish a stable environment. Strength comes through care of others and production of something that contributes to the betterment of society, which Erikson calls generativity, so when we're in this stage we often fear inactivity and meaninglessness. As our children leave home, or our relationships or goals change, we may be faced with major life change the, mid-life crisis, and struggle with finding new meanings and purposes. If we don't get through this stage successfully, we can become self-absorbed and stagnate.

Erikson felt that much of life is preparing for the middle adulthood stage and the last stage is recovering from it. Perhaps that is because as older adults we can often look back on our lives with happiness and are content, feeling fulfilled with a deep sense that life has meaning and we've made a contribution to life, a feeling Erikson calls integrity. Our strength comes from a wisdom that the