The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

As I dive into it, my heart hurts for Eddie. Eddie's life story is one of those stories which make us think of how life can be unfair for certain people. But as I get further into it, I am enlightened that perhaps we find certain circumstances heartbreaking and unfair because we don't know all the sides there are to a story.

The story unravels the hidden links of causation between one chapter of Eddie's life to the other and gives Eddie eye-opening clarifications and case-closing answers to his thoughts. All of these answers led him to understand his loved ones, the cause and effects of his decisions. They gifted him with the opportunity to forgive and be forgiven.

I think it's relevant to extract at least five of the most important lessons taught from this story;

1. That our lives are always interconnected with the lives of others around us. We don't always realise it, but even the smallest decisions we make affect other people too - and it can be in ways we don't expect.
   
   
2. That we all make our own sacrifices, and the way forward is to give ourselves the appreciation and recognition that we deserve for the sacrifice we make, and not crushing our hearts thinking of the things we lost in the sacrifice. While it is certainly rightful to grieve, wouldn't the sacrifice be more meaningful if we appreciate it and pick it up from there towards more?
   
   
3. That there are things that other people do that we can't comprehend, and sometimes those things hurt, especially when they are family. But things are not always as they appear. Without communication, certain things can remain hurting the relationship, but understanding and the willingness to share can salvage it.
   
   
4. That to love is to cherish each other for what they truly are - the less and the more. And to say it out loud, the way preferable to us. And that certain things we will always love, but separation is inevitable, and so the love can hurt, forever.
   
   
5. That there is room in the kind hearts for repentance and forgiveness, and there is meaning to one's self consciousness in the things that one does.

An eye-opening read.