Tuesdays With Morrie

References

  1. ^ a b c de Botton, Alain (November 23, 1997). "Continuing Ed" (book review). The New York Times. Retrieved May 22, 2023. Who was Morris Schwartz, who died in 1995, and what did he have to say that Albom found so helpful? Schwartz came from a family of destitute Lower East Side Russian Jews and became a leading member of the Brandeis sociology faculty. He was a genial fellow, whom Albom describes as looking, in his commencement robes, like a cross between a biblical prophet and a Christmas elf. He loved to laugh and dance, he was irreverent toward those in authority and kind to the underprivileged. He was an inspiration to his students and a loving husband and family man. / Albom's book is divided into chapters that give us Schwartz's attitudes toward death, fear, aging, greed, marriage, family, society, forgiveness and a meaningful life. The professor was not afraid of big statements: Love always wins, Money is not a substitute for tenderness, Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. One gets whiffs of Jesus, the Buddha, Epicurus, Montaigne and Erik Erikson. Schwartz's advice to Albom boils down to recommendations that he should work less, think more about his wife, give himself to others and remember he has to die. / Unfortunately, such true and sometimes touching pieces of advice don't add up to a very wise book. Though Albom insists that Schwartz's words have transformed him, it's hard to see why, to judge from the evidence in Tuesdays With Morrie. To be told that we should think more of love and less of money is no doubt correct, but it's hard to put such advice into practice unless it is accompanied by some understanding of why we ever did otherwise. Because Albom fails to achieve any real insight into his own previously less-than-exemplary life, it's difficult for the reader to trust in his spiritual transformation. Albom describes Schwartz's effect on others, including him, but never quite captures the effect itself. Despite the obvious charm and good nature of both author and subject, in the end, the exhortations fall flat. Just as a well-meaning statement like We should all live in peace doesn't help avert wars, Tuesdays with Morrie finally fails to enlighten.
  2. ^ a b c d DePauw Staff (July 20, 2006). "Bestselling Author of Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom, to Present Ubben Lecture November 13". DePauw News & Media. Archived from the original on October 9, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Thomas, Jack (March 9, 1995). "A Professor's Final Course: His Own Death". BostonGlobe.com (Living section). Retrieved May 22, 2023. Note, the date presented in this reference is of that of the original publication, rather than the October 19, 2022 date of its republication from that newspaper's archive.
  4. ^ a b Harris, Richard (March 15, 2015). "Nearly 20 years After His Death, Morrie Schwartz Lives On". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  5. ^ a b Koppel Ted & Schwartz, Morrie (March 1995). Conversations with Morrie: Lessons on Living. Nightline. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via YouTube.com. Note, the date presented in this reference is of that of the original event broadcast, though the specific date on a Friday is unknown; it is not the October 1, 2016 presentation date for the video at YouTube. As a non-standard and non-original source lacking that original dating, this citation should be replaced with an authentic video from ABC News.
  6. ^ a b Koppel, Ted & Albom, Mitch (July 14, 1998). Morrie: A Man Teaches Others How to Live and Die. ABC News. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Brooks, Rich (May 14, 2005). "ALS forced two men to make different choices, and both are valid". Herald-Tribune. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Albom, Mitch (November 21, 2008). "Professor Turns Dying into a Final Lesson". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via MitchAlbom.com.
  9. ^ Shriver, Ryan (2010). "Tuesdays With Morrie (1999)—Directed by: Mick Jackson". All Media Guide-Baseline. Archived from the original (film overview) on March 24, 2014 – via The New York Times. Note, this source contains no information about the 1997 book.
  10. ^ Gutman, Les (November 2002). "A CurtainUp Review: Tuesdays with Morrie". CurtainUp. Retrieved May 22, 2023. While the interviews (parts of which I've seen in re-runs) afford a stunning look behind the veneer of the dying process, the book (none of which I have read), and now the play, do not seriously scratch the surface. They are as much about Albom as Schwartz and, though they reënforce the point made by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in her seminal work, Of Death and Dying (that there is much to be learned about life from those who are dying), they impart the lessons learned predictably and without any particular enlightenment. / What the play does do quite successfully is manipulate the audience's emotions, albeit without great subtlety. Morrie is one of those people who enjoys a good cry; Mitch is not. Albom's play (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) will have the desired effect for those who fall in Morrie's camp. It will also succeed in delivering a "message" to those who are suckers for simplistic self-help pablum. That's a large constituency: the book spent four years on the New York Times Bestseller List despite a review in the same paper that said, "[d]espite the obvious charm and good nature of both author and subject, in the end, the exhortations fall flat." / The same could be said for the play. But in this production at least, it offers an attraction that the book can't: two sterling performances. / ... / This may well be one of those shows (much like the original book) that finds a huge and devoted audience despite critical carping. Even those who don't fall in that category will be rewarded with some thrilling performances.
  11. ^ Buchwald, Linda. "Tony Winner Len Cariou to Star in Off-Broadway Run of Tuesdays with Morrie". Theatermania. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

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