Perhaps my best assignment ever as a writer has been getting to meet and chat with one of the world’s most beloved authors, Mitch Albom. Unknown to many, Albom was a musician and an award-winning sports journalist before he captured hearts and minds all over the world with the #1 New York Times bestseller, Tuesdays with Morrie.
After having published his latest novel, The First Phone Call from Heaven, Albom took the opportunity to visit the Philippines not only to promote his book, but also–and more importantly–to help rebuild libraries in the towns most heavily hit by supertyphoon Haiyan (local name: Yolanda).
For this series of articles on Rappler.com, Mr. Albom and I talked about his library-rebuilding and charity efforts; his thoughts on success, fame; and happiness; and his candid thoughts on death, hope, and making every minute count in this life.
I’ll be sharing some quotable quotes here, but please feel free to read and share the original features. (And please remember to vote on Rappler’s Mood Meter! :))
Part 1: Here to help: Why Mitch Albom decided to visit PH
“Not only do I want to call attention to these efforts to rebuild these libraries… I’ve [also] called upon my fellow authors in America to donate 10 books apiece of their own books.”
In just one day, he got pledges from “a good 10 to 12” authors, including Stephen King (The Shining), Amy Tan (The Joy Luck Club), Scott Turow (Presumed Innocent), James McBride (The Good Lord Bird), and Ridley Pearson (The Kingdom Keepers series).
“I’m also going to go after (John) Grisham, James Patterson…I’m not going to stop until I get them to say yes. I’m pretty sure they will. So I want to be able to go there on Monday and say that… all of these American authors want to show their support for getting back to regular life, which for us is being able to go and take a book from the library.”
Read the full post HERE.
Here’s another quotable quote from this piece that I love:
Part 2: Finding meaning in work, life; 5 lessons to learn from Mitch Albom
A lot of quotable quotes from this article! Watch Mr. Albom share his thoughts on failure, success, fame, and happiness in his own voice 🙂
Here’s another quote that I love from this second piece:
Read the full post HERE.
Part 3: Mitch Albom: Thoughts on death, making every minute count
For this piece, Mr. Albom shared some candid thoughts on death and “leaving too soon”, but he also spoke of despair and hope. Watch this video for more insights:
Here’s another great quotable quote:
Read the full post HERE.
Liked what you saw and watched here? 🙂 Feel free to share it with those who need a little picker-upper in their days. 🙂
P.S. To learn more about Mitch Albom’s charity work in the Philippines, read his latest website post, or visit A Hole in the Roof Foundation.
