Book Report

By

J. Schell English 123

#1-pg. 43

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep, even when
they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong
things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote
yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives
you purpose and meaning.”

I choose this passage because it gives us a glimps of Morries beliefs and what he thinks is
important in life. The message is pretty clear and if you stop to think about it this is the way
most of us live our lives and it is depressing in a way. He is trying to enlighten the people of
today on ways to be hapy by loving everything and everyone around you, not by having
everything you think you need.

#2- pg. 81-82

Morrie borrowed freely from all religions. He was born Jewish, but became an agnostic when he
was a teenager, partly because of all that had happened to him as a child. He enjoyed some of
the philosophies of Buddhism and Christianity, and he still felt at home, culturally, in Judaism.
He was a religious mutt, which made him even more open to the students he taught over the
years . And the things he was saying in his final months on earth seemed to transcend all
religious differences. Death has a way of doing that.

I choose this passage because it gives us an insight to his religious beliefs and a peek into his
childhood. Also, this proves that all religions do share comon ideals and what not in one way or
another. Because he dipped into more than one religion this made him a better listener to
those from different backgrounds, which in his declining time he had more of.

#3- pg. 105

Morries approach was exactly the exact opposite. Turn on the faucet. Wash yourself with the
emotion. It won’t hurt you. It will only help. If you let the fear inside, if you pull it on like a
familiar shirt, then you can say to yourselff, “Alright, it’s just fear, i don’t have to let it control
me. I see it for what it is.” Same for loneliness: you let the tears flow, feel it completely—but
eventually be able to say, “Alright, that was my moment with loneliness, I’m not afraid of
feeling lonely, but now I’m going to put that loneliness aside and know that there are other
emotions in the world, and I’m going to experience them as well.” “Detach,” Morrie said again.
I choose this passage because Morrie is teaching you to release your emotions and not to be
afraid of them, or let them control your life. He says that its ok to feel them but every once and
a while you have to be able to put them aside and get on with your life. This is an importnat
passage for me because this is how i think we should all work, the world would be a better
place if people didnt let their emotions have such a heavy burden on their life and/or choices.

5)Create a fact sheet about your main character. Write a list of twenty things about your main
character. They must be factual and you must include the page number in your book where the
infromation can be found. Your facts must come from the entire book.

1-Morrie had a multitude of friends, family, and colleges that loved him and cherished him.

-Acknowledgments

2)Morrie was not ashamed to admit he was sick and that he was going to die. –pg. 9

3)He would not wither. He was not ashamed of dying. –pg. 10

4)Morrie didnt care what people thought of him, he was himself and thats that. –pg. 30-31

5)He loved all his friends and colleges very deeply and belived in true love. –pg. 40

6)He believed that the most impotant thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it
come in.

7)He borrowed from a variety of different religions. –pg.81-82

8)His favourite poet was W. H. Auden. –pg. 122

9)He loved music and he had a great passion for dancing. –pg.124

10)He believed the best way to get satisfaction is not by giving items but your time and
attention.

–pg.127

11)He wanted a special message on his tombstone, “A Teacher to the Last.” –pg.134

12)He believed that in the beginning of life, when we are infants, we need others to survive,
and at the end of life like what he was going thorugh, you need others to survive but the secret
is that in between you need others as well. –pg.157

12)His mother died when he was only eight years old. –pg.73
13)After his mother’s death, Morrie and his brother were sent to a small hotel in the
Connecticut woods where several families shared a large cabin and a communal kitchen. –pg.74

14)Morrie’s brother developed polio at a young age. –pg.75

15)At nine years old, he felt as if the weight of a mountain were on his shoulders. –pg75

16)He got a stepmother, Eva, when he was ten years old. –pg75

17)Morrie’s family was in poverty when he was a child. –pg.76

18)Incredibly, Morrie had been told by his father never to talk about his mother. His father
wanted young David to think Eva was his natural mother. –pg.77

19)His first job was at a mental hospital just outside Washington, D.C. for five years, after
plowing through a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. –pg.109

20)He started working at Brandeis University in the early sixties where he taught classes about
social psychology, mental illness and health, group process. –pg.111

4)Write an interview for your main character. Write ten questions that you would ask your
main character. They might be things about the facts of his/her life. Or you may ask them about
their emotionis, thoughts, feelings, or motivations. The questions may be about their lives or
about their perspecive on things.

Q1- What are your thoughts on todays youth and their dependancy on technology?

Q2- If you could go back in time and redo one thing in your life what would it be?

Q3- What do you think of the recent rise of celebrities checking into rehab? Do you think its for
the attention of the benefit?

Q4- Whats your opinion on the many sub categories of religion in todays world?

Q5- What is your opinion on the whole NB power scandal in the news?

Q6- Do you believe that todays youth are reading enough?

Q7- There has been an increase in over wieght children in recent years, what advice do you
have for not only youth but the adults of the world?

Q8- Many young adults are heading right into the workforce after high school, how much of a
weight does post secondary education have on the world?

Q9- The mdeia potrays fake ideals in hopes that people will go out and buy things they dont
need, what do you think about this?
Q10- Would you recomend to other couples to have a family? What kind of experience was it
for you?

2)Write a letter to the main character of your book. Introduce yourself and discuss your
thoughts about his life. Tell this person what you found most interesting, most exciting or most
inspiring. Tell them your thoughts on the low points of their lide, and explain why the story of
their life did or did not appeal to you. This assignment must be in proper letter format. It must
be at least one page in length, typed or neatly hand-written.

26 Hiltz Road
Berry Mils, NB E1G 2P4

November 16, 2010

Dear Morrie,

My name is Luke Barron and I am eighteen years old and attend Harrison Trimble High
School. I live in Canada and it gets pretty cold up here sometimes. Anyway, enough about me, there
is a purpose for the letter you are reading right now.

I have read the biography written by Mitch Albom over and over and your life is so inspiring
to me. Your philosophies are very deep and enriching. I also found the way you handled ALS and
what comes with it a very moving experience and only wish i knew more people like you.

You have so many good friends and I can’t imagine anyone having a negative thought about
you. You are a great listener and give the best advice and know just the right thing to say. You are
packed full of information that can help so many people and i enjoyed it all when i heard it all. It
made me think twice about my own life and what is really important and what we take for granted.

Everyone is running around trying to fill the gaps in their lives with possesions when, as you
so lovely put it, the only thing you need to fill that hole is love for and from other people. You will
most all the time get back what you give out so if you love and care for other they will show you the
same back to you. But why am i telling you this I learned this from you haha. I look at the world
differently after reading about your life and being inspired by your wisdom. So many things i
thought i needed are just things that take up space and dont usually share the attention you give to
them.

I wish you the best of luck with all that you and know that you have change my life and the lives of
the people around me and im grateful to you that.

Sincerly Yours,