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Introduction:

Tuesdays with Morrie is a memoir by Mitch Albom, published in 1997. It is one of the most popular memoirs, displaying its originality. It follows the days the author visited his professor, Morrie, when he had a disease and got only two years to live. The book shows the conversations between Morrie and Mitch and several flashbacks. 

Plot:

Mitch recalls a flashback to a time in 1979 in Brandeis University in his graduation. He walked up to his favorite professor, Morrie Schwartz, who taught sociology. Mitch had taken tuedays with Morrie, learning sociology. Years after Mitch said goodbye and that he will visit Morrie again, Morrie got ALS disease. He could only live for a few years. Meanwhile, Mitch feels frustrated with his life since it wasn’t going like he wanted it to. While scrolling through TV channels, he heard Morrie’s voice in one of the three interviews with Ted Koppel, “Nightline”. Mitch quickly travels to Massachusetts to visit his beloved professor but he delays it due to a call from a producer. After he visits Morrie, he works hard on his job but he realizes it wasn’t the right thing he was chasing after. He goes back to visit Morrie and talks about the values in life. Everything Mitch visits, Morrie’s condition gets worse. He couldn’t chew his food and he couldn’t go to the bathroom by himself. They also talk about flashbacks to college. Mitch explains in detail the reasons why Morrie is his favorite professor: Morrie makes everyone feel special and unique and loved by differently welcoming every student when they come into his room for a class. However, Mitch and Morrie had an unbreakable relationship, like a son to a father. When Morrie comes closer to death, Mitch proposes a project to Morrie, a compiled note from Morrie for their last thesis together. The compiled notes were going to be used for a memoir Mitch was going to write called “Tuesday with Morrie”. Before Morrie dies, he insists on Mitch meeting his brother to help him fight the cancer together. At Morrie’s funeral, Mitch keeps his promise of having conversations with his professor like usual days. 

Analysis: 

The author shows the professor and his close relationship with each other through their talks and the flashbacks the author gives at the end of each chapter. He includes the flashbacks and the memories rather at the end of the chapter than at the start, as a prologue, or during the chapters. Morrie got ALS which Stephen Hawking got but was able to live only two years when Stephen hawking got to live more than 50 years. This also shows how fatal yet unexpected the disease can be. The author explains his sorrow through their last project together, the book, indirectly. He also displayed their bond through the end when Mitch goes to think in front of his professor’s grave. Their relationship was shown as father to son as Morrie gives advices to Mitch and talks to him about morals. Additionally, Morrie’s personality can be shown through the description in the book. Mitch described him as the best teacher who welcomes every student differently to make each one feel special. Also, the interviews, Nightline, are still online from when Morrie was alive. This is another good source to gain more information about Morrie. 

Conclusion:

Tuesdays with Morrie is a memoir by Mitch Albom, published in 1997. It is one of the most popular memoirs worldwide, renowned for the author’s personal experiences with his professor, Morrie Schwartz. The story is about the relationship between the author and his professor whom he took his classes in college only on Tuesdays. When Morrie gets ALS disease, the author visits his professor until the day he passes away. They talk about morals and other numerous topics and the author also shows their unbreakable bond and their last project together, Tuesdays with Morrie.