The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom
The First Phone Call
from Heaven by Mitch Albom
The phones began ringing on a
Friday in Coldwater, Michigan. Tess got a call from her mother, who had early
onset Alzheimer’s disease and died four years earlier. Katherine talked to her
sister, Diane, who had died from an aneurysm two years ago. Jack, the chief of
police, had lost his son, Robbie, in Afghanistan and was able to talk to him
for the first time in years that Friday. Weeks later Katherine would tell the
church congregation that she had been talking to her sister. Word spread fast
through the small town and soon everyone was expecting a phone call from
deceased loved ones. Jules, was included in that number. Jules was hoping to
hear from his mother, Giselle, who had died months earlier while her husband,
Sully, was in prison. The phone calls came the day Sully was released and he
refused to believe they were true. There were skeptics like Sully throughout
the town and the country as media coverage increased regarding these calls from
beyond. People flocked to the town as the phone calls continued to come, most
filled with hope that they too would be chosen. Many just wondered if phone
calls from heaven could possibly be real.
How would you react to a phone call
from heaven? Would you be a skeptic or elated? Would you share the news to with
the world or keep it to yourself? The
First Phone Call from Heaven deals with all the emotions that come with
recovering from the death of those around us. Through the many different
characters we see the levels of confusion, fear, happiness, anger and, most of
all, hope. Each character has a different experience in relation to these phone
calls, how they deal with what they are told and how they reject or accept the
occurrences. Katherine was moved to share. Tess was moved to help. One person
chose to run. There was no correct way to respond to something this
unfathomable. The depth of the emotions and how everyone chooses to react
during the four months this novel took place is an examination of faith or the
lack thereof.
I have been a huge fan of Mitch
Albom for years. He is great at examining questions of faith and exploring
different aspects of Christianity. The
First Phone Call from Heaven is no exception. It was well written,
wonderfully imagined, and thought provoking. Everyone questions what happens
after death and in this novel that idea is explored in a very simple and
straight forward way. Albom makes it clear that faith depends on the
individual. How you choose to celebrate or accept that faith is up to you. No
one can change your beliefs but you and understanding that will shape your
faith. I enjoyed this novel and give it 4 out of 5 stars. I definitely
recommend Albom as an author and this was a great novel by him.
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