Are Mistakes In Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet In Heaven

Human History is riddled with mistakes, some learned from, others still present. In Mitch Albom’s novel The Five People you Meet in Heaven, passing away is not a transition into nirvana, it is alternatively a process of reflection in which mistakes throughout life are explored and forgiven. The reader is communicated that forgiveness is not about forgetting experiences and moving on, that it is not purposeful to lose memories in an effort to relinquish pain. Forgiving that which cannot be forgotten hosts a new way to remember, and introduces a new outlook on life. Understanding the faults in others develops one’s outlook regarding impending mistakes and their causes. Every individual lives within different environments, exploring these conditions

The little girl Eddie speaks to in this passage was killed in Eddie’s carelessness. Nevertheless if one can find a reason to forgive themselves, their burdens lose volume. If improperly addressed however, realizing blunders too late and lacking justification can easily devastate someone. Eddie confronted the girl, he questioned her of his purpose and why he deserved heaven; “’Fixing rides? That was my existence?’ He blew a deep breath. ‘Why?’ She tilted her head as if it were obvious. ‘Children’ she said. ‘You keep them safe. You make good for me.’” (Albom 191). Comparable to ripping off a band aide; a wound must be felt, only then if one is able may they absolve themselves. The child’s pardon of Eddie opened his eyes and enabled him to justify his actions in a morally enlightened way. Eddie began to understand his final moments, his sacrifice for a child and how it led him here. Forgiveness does not erase the burdens of mistake, rather it carries them with you as a

No individual is born with the load of errors made in the past, they are collected and in faith; forgiven. The third lesson in heaven, a woman long past, a woman who knew Eddie’s father explained; “’Do you remember the lightness you felt when you first arrived in heaven?’ Eddie did. ‘you must understand why you felt what you did and why you no longer feel it.’ She touched his hand. ‘You need to forgive your father.’” (Albom 142). The child to an abusive and unforgiving man, Eddie resented his father for decades. It wasn’t until he understood his father’s values and inability to conventionally express his love that Eddie realized why the burden of hatred no longer existed beyond his clemency. Forgiveness is a cure for such burdens; otherwise often misplaced judgement festers into an emotional sickness. If one does not learn to forgive in life, they shall bear the guilt and shame of their faults. Eddie now understood the gravity of his mistake, “He tried to smile, as if it were a medicine the little girl needed. She smiled back, but this only made him fall apart. […] the bad dreams he’d suffered, he’d deserved every one.” (Albom 188). He bore the guilt of his manslaughter because he was unable to forgive himself, unable to explain the pain he felt. Eddie allowed it to gnaw at and consume most of his adult life. After having understood the impact forgiveness held over him in life,