| "In the beginning, there was a question.| "Will you do my eulogy?".." (from the first line) What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together?
In Have a Little Faith, Mitch Albom offers a beautifully written story of a remarkable eight year journey between two worlds – two men, two faiths, two communities – that will inspire readers everywhere.
Albom’s first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie was published twelve years ago, Have A Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.
Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor – a reformed drug dealer and convict – who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof.
Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Mitch observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi, embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.
As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Mitch and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers and histories are different, Albom begins to realize a striking unity between the two worlds - and indeed, between beliefs everywhere.
In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor’s wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.
Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story.
Annotation:
Having sold upwards of 30 million copies of his three most popular titles, it is safe to say that Mitch Albom is among the most beloved inspirational writers of our time. But even he was more than a bit daunted when Albert Lewis, an octogenarian rabbi in New Jersey, requested that Albom perform his eulogy, particularly since Lewis was still very much alive. Albom reluctantly agreed to perform the speech, and then set out to get to know the rabbi better, which would seem to be a prerequisite for the job. Meanwhile, in Detroit, Michigan, the city where Albom currently lives, a pastor named Henry Covington was finding out that simple faith and prayer was not enough to keep a crumbling church from scaring away his congregation. Christian churchgoers are sometimes fondly referred to as a flock, but the "sheep" in Henry's church were often joined by other furry creatures--rats. A passing rain storm during the mass might result in a series of surprise baptisms, as the water poured in through holes in the roof. Albom gets involved in the lives of these two remarkable men from opposite ends of various social spectrums, and discovers that their differences pale in comparison to their similarities. As the rabbi prepares for death, and the pastor tries to repair his church, they each rely on their foundations of faith to assure them that their actions have a relevance will which last well beyond their lifetime. Selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the 100 Best Books of 2009.
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Author Bio| Mitch Albom | | One night in 1995, Detroit sportswriter Mitch Albom watched a television show which would change his life, and ultimately the world, in ways he never could have imagined. But to get to that point, Albom had traveled a meandering road filled with some unexpected detours. Born (in 1958) and raised in New Jersey, near Philadelphia, Albom attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, where he studied sociology, though his real interest was music. Albom dreamed of a career as a singer/songwriter, and he supported himself for several years by playing piano and performing in clubs in the Northeast, and later in Europe, where he once sang Elvis cover songs on the island of Crete. Back in the U.S., Albom moonlighted as an amateur boxer until he became a volunteer reporter for a local newspaper in Queens, New York, which ultimately earned him a spot in the School of Journalism at Columbia University. Reversing the common script, Albom supported his practical education with earnings from his music, as he earned a Masters and an M.B.A. from Columbia, and began to work as a freelance sports reporter. Albom worked his way up the journalism ladder in various cities until he found a home in Detroit, writing a nationally-syndicated sports column and hosting a popular radio program. Albom garnered hundreds of awards for his incisive sports writing, including winning the Associated Press's coveted award for best column an unprecedented 13 times. In 1995, the newlywed Albom happened to tune in to Ted Koppel's Nightline program, which featured an interview with Albom's former Brandeis professor Morrie Schwartz, who was dying of A.L.S., also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. The mournful Albom sought out his former mentor, and the two began meeting regularly for conversations which taught Albom many valuable lessons about life's priorities. In an effort to pay for Schwartz's mounting medical bills, Albom promised to write a book about the experience, which became TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, the bestselling memoir of all time (as of 2009). In 2003, Albom released his follow-up, a novel called THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, which broke more sales records and cemented his place as one of the most beloved writers of his time. The indefatigable Albom continues to produce bestsellers, while hosting his radio program, writing his award-winning sports column, and running multiple charities he has established. |
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