The Next Person You Meet in Heaven: The sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven: A gripping and life-affirming novel from a globally bestselling author

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It stirred emotions in me that I haven’t felt since I read my last MA book - this guy is so gifted, and I don’t know how he does it, but I believe everything he writes, such is his power with words. Fifteen years ago, in Mitch Albom’s beloved novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the world fell in love with Eddie, a grizzled war veteran- turned-amusement park mechanic who died saving the life of a young girl named Annie. Eddie’s journey to heaven taught him that every life matters. Now, in this magical sequel, Mitch Albom reveals Annie’s story. A special thank you to Edelweiss and Harper for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.Mitch Albom has done it again. In this delightful sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven, we once again meet up with Eddie only this time he is reunited with Annie, the little girl he saved. This is a story of how we are connected in life and loss. In The Five People You Meet in Heaven, we meet Eddie, a war veteran that worked at an amusement park as a mechanic. Eddie died a hero when he saves Annie's life. Forever scared emotionally and physically (Annie's hand was surgically reattached), Annie's life is forever changed when she endures a life of bullying even though Annie cannot remember what happened to her. She further struggles when her guilt ridden mother suddenly uproots them and moves away.Finally finding happiness, as an adult, Annie reconnects with her childhood love Paulo. The novel opens with the two of them marrying. Unfortunately their wedding day ends in terrible tragedy and Annie finds herself on her own journey to discover her five people that will show her how her life mattered—one of those people is Eddie.I can't believe it has been fifteen years since The Five People You Meet in Heaven was published. Fans of the book have always wondered what ever became of Eddie and Annie—this is a testament to an inspiring story when it stays with readers and keeps them wondering. In true Albom style, this book is full of life lessons and grace. Whether you are a spiritual person or not, this book will touch you in some way and is a gift. The lesson that I took away was that every ending is also a beginning, sometimes we are simply just unwilling to see it as such. Read more Little things are most often neglected and unnoticed just like how we exhale air everyday. It is indeed a fact that we lose something everyday, as simple and as practical of this example but real loss for me is grief and suffering. It is the hardest struggle you needed to get through in life, you move on or live with it.

True love is rare to find, no matter how hard it is, you’ll find a way to get to the person who you truly care for. True love can move mountains even to the most impossible ways just to be with that person who you want to be in your life. “You lose something everyday you live , sometimes it’s as tiny as the breath you just expelled, sometimes it’s so big you think you won’t survive it.” Thirteen hours left to live. They walked down the aisle, arm in arm, a newly married couple with all the time in the world. As Annie brushed away her tears, she saw an old man in the last row, wearing a linen cap and a jut-jawed grin. Annie felt as if she knew him. On his 83rd birthday, amusement park ride mechanic Eddie is killed in an accident when a ride breaks down. During the accident, he makes a desperate attempt to save a little girl's life. Twelve hours left. Annie and Paulo took the dance floor, beneath strings of white bulbs. Paulo raised an arm and said, Ready? and Annie remembered a night in a junior high school gymnasium, when she marched up to Paulo and said, You’re the only boy who talks to me, so tell me right now if you will dance with me, yes or no, because otherwise I’m gonna go home and watch TV. THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven. When Annie was only eight-years-old she lost her left hand in a horrific accident at the Ruby Pier amusement park. The hand was surgically reattached but it left an indelible mark on Annie’s life. She doesn’t remember the tragic accident that killed Eddie, the amusement park mechanic but it left her scarred and the subject of ridicule. Annie struggles to find acceptance throughout her life, but feels as if everything she does is a mistake. When she reunites with Paulo, a childhood friend, she knows she has finally found happiness. They marry and this is where Annie’s story begins. A romantic hot-air balloon ride the morning after the wedding ends in tragedy when Annie falls from the sky. She is whisked into her own heavenly journey, where she reunites with Eddie and learns how her life on earth affected others.

My Book Notes

Eddie awakens to see children playing along with a riverbed. A young Filipina girl named Tala comes up to him. Tala reveals that she was the little girl from the hut that Eddie set on fire. Distraught, Eddie breaks down both cursing and asking God "why?" Tala hands him a stone and asks him to "wash" her like the other children in the river are doing to one another. Eddie is puzzled, but dips the stone in the water and starts to scrape off the injuries he had inflicted on her. Tala's wounds begin to clear until she is freed of all the scars. Eddie asks Tala if she knows if he was able to save the little girl before his death. Tala tells him he did manage to push her out of the way. In this way, Tala explains, he also managed to atone every day for her unnecessary death. The book started like I was reading a fast-paced horror thriller! I was like "slow down and let me breath for a moment!"

Here, Paulo said now, handing her a small, yellow, wiry creation, soft and fuzzy, with oval ears on top and oval feet on bottom. Poignant and beautiful, filled with unexpected twists, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven reminds us that not only does every life matter, but that every ending is also a beginning—we only need to open our eyes to see it. I recommend this novel to everyone because it is not only can make you cry but it makes you inspire that life is a beautiful thing to happen. It gives you that every day is a blessing just like in this novel. This can be an inspiration to us that there is light in every tunnel we face in. THE NEXT PERSON YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a touching and thought-provoking chronicle of the impact of daily interactions on the lives of others. This short and simple story is written in the same easy style as all of Mitch Alboms books. He wrote the book as a sequel because for years after the first books came out readers continued ask him, “What happened to Annie and Eddie next?” Fifteen years later, Albom’s first sequel is born.Eddie looked up playfully, as if he had to think about it. Then he took out his yellow pipe cleaners and made her a rabbit—exactly like the one Paulo had just handed her.