In Mitch Albom’s book The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the main character, Eddie, meets five people, and each person teaches an important lesson. Eddie learns all about sacrifice, forgiveness, and the meaning in life. Each of these lessons greatly impacts Eddie.
When Eddie meets his old commanding officer from the military, he learns about the importance of sacrifice. The Captain teaches Eddie about the necessity of sacrifice throughout life. Eddie was upset about the sacrifices he had to make but The Captain explains, “You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. . . . It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to,”(93). Eddie did not understand that sacrifice is a good thing, but this made him realize that all his losses happened for a reason. At the time, Eddie could only think about the things he lost, but The Captain says that they are not really gone. “Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious you're not really losing it. You're just passing it on to someone else,” (94). This made it feel better because it meant that his captain didn't die for nothing. His captain died making sure that the rest of the men got home safely. Eddie was finally able to accept that all the bad things that happened, happened for a reason.
When Eddie meets Ruby in heaven, she teaches an important lesson. Rose shows Eddie that it is important to forgive people. Eddie had hated his dad for his whole life but Rose told him, “Holding anger is a poison . . . the harm we do, we do to ourselves,” (141). She was saying that even after years of hate, Eddie should still forgive his dad. When Eddie forgave his father, it helped him mend their relationship. When he was younger, Eddie worked with his dad in the maintenance shack at Ruby Pier. His dad would hand him something damaged and say, “Fix it. ” Eddie would then repair the item, bring it to his father, and say, “It’s fixed. ” This was the only interaction between them for a long time. Then when he saw his dad in heaven, he said, “I didn’t know your life, OK? . . . But you’re my father. I’ll let it go now, all right? . . . It’s fixed,” (144). Just like he had fixed all the things at the pier, Eddie had finally “fixed” his relationship with his dad.
The fifth person that Eddie meets in heaven teaches an important lesson about the purpose of life. She shows Eddie that everybody’s life has a purpose and that no life is pointless. Tala takes Eddie to see the pier and all the kids having fun. “ ‘Children,’ she said. ‘You keep them safe,’ ”(191). Many times throughout the book, Eddie has said that he was not happy with his life because his life was meaningless, but Tala show him that during his time on earth, he protected thousands of people without knowing it. Just knowing this made Eddie happy. Finally, Tala told Eddie about the girl he was trying to save when he died. “You keep her safe,” (192). Now that he knew he saved the girl, Eddie could finally be at peace.
Learning these lessons completely changed Eddie’s life. He was able to accept the negative things that had happened during his life and he was able to release his hatred. By accepting the bad and being able to forgive, Eddie could finally be at peace with his father, and with himself.