Mitch Albom has done it again after writing Tuesdays With Morrie, For One More Day, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.  Personally, I am a devotee of inspiring and motivating journeys in narratives.  This is a story that follows Albom’s spiritual quest after being raised Jewish in New Jersey, his travels throughout his early to middle-adulthood, and most currently his job at the Detroit Free Press.  While in his thirties, Albom’s rabbi from his childhood asks him to deliver the eulogy at his funeral.  A bit perplexed at this request because he has lived away from home and isn’t religious, he ultimately agrees and meets weekly with the “Reb” to discuss life, death, hope, religion, community, and the human spirit. These meetings take place over eight years and they cultivate a treasured and loving friendship.  Running parallel is the story of what is happening back home in Detroit at the “I Am My Brother’s Keeper Ministry” which is housed in a dilapidated church with a gaping hole in the roof.   The metaphor here of the decrepit roof is perceptible as Albom moves between the worlds of his old Rabbi and his new friend, Reverend Henry Covington, and begins to fill and restore a void in his own faith.  Another stirring and gratifying story about the strength of friendship and the power of faith!

Barb Farrell Swenson, Children's Librarian