freeSpeech: Mitch Albom
On the TV news, every day seems important. Every day comes with headlines.
Real life doesn't go that way.
Most of our days are no different than the next. We work. We work some more. And the really "important" stories of our lives we put off, because for now we have to do the chores or pay the mortgage.
I am currently traveling across the country with a new book, which explores the idea "What if we had one more day with a lost loved one?" I've been stunned at how many people approach with tears in their eyes, wishing for just such an encounter - especially with a lost mother or father - one more meal, one more walk, a chance to ask questions, to say I love you or I'm sorry.
The thing is, many of them had that chance, but passed it up. They waited. They figured next month, next Christmas. Then suddenly, the loved one was gone. I know. When I was young, I had a cherished uncle who was taken to the hospital one night. I walked him to the elevator. I didn't say what I wanted to say. The doors closed. And I never saw him again.
Years later, I had a series of weekly visits with my old college professor, Morrie Schwartz, who was stricken with ALS. I watched him slowly die in front of me. And it finally jolted me into accepting that our time truly is short.
Since then, I've tried to think of what my headlines would be at the end of each day, how my "top stories" would read. And I know this. If my own nightly broadcast didn't involve at least one story of time spent with a loved one, then it wasn't a very good news day.
Mitch Albom is the author of nine books, including the newest, "For One More Day." You can read an excerpt of this book here.
His first novel, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is the most successful U.S. hardback first novel ever and has to date sold over 8 million copies worldwide. "Tuesdays With Morrie," his chronicle of time spent with a beloved but dying college professor, spent four years on the NY Times bestsellers list and is now the most successful memoir ever published.
An award-winning journalist and radio host, Albom wrote the screenplay for "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and is an established playwright, having authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version of "Tuesdays With Morrie" (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) which has seen more than 40 productions nationwide, and several recent comedies which have been produced and performed in venues across the country.