From Goodreads,
"In this enchanting sequel to the number one bestseller The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom tells the story of Eddie’s heavenly reunion with Annie—the little girl he saved on earth—in an unforgettable novel of how our lives and losses intersect.
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.
The accident that killed Eddie left an indelible mark on Annie. It took her left hand, which needed to be surgically reattached. Injured, scarred, and unable to remember why, Annie’s life is forever changed by a guilt-ravaged mother who whisks her away from the world she knew. Bullied by her peers and haunted by something she cannot recall, Annie struggles to find acceptance as she grows. When, as a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, her childhood love, she believes she has finally found happiness.
As the novel opens, Annie is marrying Paulo. But when her wedding night day ends in an unimaginable accident, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey—and an inevitable reunion with Eddie, one of the five people who will show her how her life mattered in ways she could not have fathomed.
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've had this book hanging out on my bookshelf and collecting dust since it was released. After rereading The Five People You Meet in Heaven I decided I should definitely read this book. Once I realized that it was about Annie, the little girl that Eddie saved, I was beyond excited.
Annie's life was changed when an old man named Eddie pushed her out of the way and saved her life as a child. Annie suffered some trauma to her hand and an empty memory of the accident. Annie's mom quickly moved her away to start fresh. Annie meets a boy named Paulo at her new school, but soon life takes them down different paths. As adults, they reconnect and immediately fall in love. Annie and Paulo get married, but Annie keeps seeing Eddie. She knows that isn't possible because he died years ago. After the wedding, Annie and Paulo prepare to leave for their honeymoon, but there is a constant barrage of choices that are made that impact lives. This leads to a major accident that sends Annie on her own heavenly journey to meet her five people.
Favorite quote from The Next Person You Meet in Heaven
"The tale of your life is written second by second, as shifting as the flip of a pencil to an eraser. There are so many times our lives are altered invisibly. The flip of a pencil, from written to erased."
I was so excited that this book followed Annie. I really enjoyed getting to learn where life led her and the PTSD from the accident. Even moreso I enjoyed reading about Annie's five people. As I mentioned last week, this series leads you to inquire what five people impacted you and what five people you've impacted. But honestly, this book had a plot twist and a half in it. There are spoilers from this point forward, so go ahead and buckle up. First thing is that there was this insane storyline of Annie and Paulo being in a hot air balloon accident. They end up in the hospital and Annie says she will do whatever to save Paulo. And the next thing we know Annie is in heaven meeting her five people. This was an insane concept for me because it ends up that Annie doesn't die! Which this entire concept that you meet five people when you die is crazy enough and there is absolutely no way to ever prove this happens. But the premise that if you flatline and they revive you, you will still meet your five people is crazy. Paulo ends up dying in the book and is Annie's final person. He explains that she needs to save someone else much like she was saved years earlier. Annie eventually finds out that she is pregnant and that the baby is the person she is supposed to save. I just think it is a wild concept that you would meet your five people even though you aren't officially dead.
I also really liked the entire concept of choices impacting our lives second by second. By choosing to go left instead of right while driving could mean the difference between life or death in some instances. It makes you really think about all the choices and decisions that we make in a day. Some seem so small and trivial, but they are a drop that can cause a major ripple and change the outcomes of so many different things. There were a ton of examples of this after 9/11. There was a story about a man whose child got sick on 9/10. So he called in the next morning and in turn it saved his life. Something so small can change the lives of those around you. This idea of small changes makes me reflect and think about the things that I have said or done and how things would be different. The first thing that comes to mind on this is when I left a long term relationship in February. He snapped at me a couple different times one Sunday. The next day it felt like there were a thousand different things building up and I couldn't handle it and the way I was being treated. So I "snapped" and broke up with him. I told him he needed to take over our lease or move out. One small moment changed life for me. I think at where I would be now if we were still together. I wasn't happy then, would I be happy now? Probably not. Things weren't going to get any better. I went through a month of complete chaos because I had no idea where I was going to live, how I was going to pay for utilities and rent, or how I would manage being on my own again. There were good days and there were bad. But I am so much better off and way happier by making that decision to be done. One small decision can impact your life in wonderful and magical ways, but it can also end in disaster.
This book was really good, but it didn't have the same magic and flow that The Five People You Meet in Heaven had. Fans of Mitch Albom will absolutely love this book and if you've read The Five People You Meet in Heaven then this is a must read. I give this 3 out of 5 stars.
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