Reading "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a sad experience because it conjures up a mass of people who, like its hero, feel lonely and unimportant. But instead of offering them the rich moral framework of organized religion or rigorous philosophy, instead of reminding them of the tough-minded exemplars of the Bible and history, books like Albom's throw the seekers remorselessly back upon themselves.
Thanks to TSO I have some interesting conversation points to feed to Martha for her book discussion group. And some answers for why the book left her "feeling sad." (Oh, great, I paid 19.95 for this...it's not even out in paperback yet. Talk about anxiety, depression, vague discontents, a sense of inner emptiness.... Like "I'm out twenty bucks" emptiness...)