“If you want to learn about healthy living, read this,” I tell my mother, tossing a paperback onto the kitchen table.

There are no cartoons. There are no perceptions of what humanity has accepted as success. The book's contents center on an older sociology professor waiting for death because of Lou Gehrig's disease. But through laughter, tears, and acceptance, he takes time to teach Mitch Albom, his former student, aphorisms about what should truly be valued in life.

Morrie reminds Albom how much humans need to rely on each other, what they were born as, and what they can learn despite the dictatorship of popular culture. And all in a number of Tuesday meetings.

In addition, no beauty is lost in the relationship between these two, who not only relate as teacher to student, but as father to son. Albom's observations emphasize how well Morrie was able to reach out to people, not only with lectures, but with love.

Albom emphasizes the realness of the story not just by portraying his mentor as a master of thought. In addition, he reveals a man who continued to experience changes in his attitude about life right up until the moment it was claimed by illness. The admirable spirit demonstrated by both and the difficulties of saying good-bye make this story hard to forget.