The emotional impact of Tuesdays with Morrie

As I said in a previous blog post, we were given an assignment to read a novel called "Tuesdays with Morrie" over the Christmas break.  This was a very emotional book.  It recalls the tale of a man, Mitch Albom, who recently learned that his old favorite teacher Morrie Schwartz is terminally ill with Lou Gherig's Disease or ALS.  When Mitch was in college, he was a student of Morrie's.  He and Morrie were very close.  Mitch recalls that he used to call Morrie coach, and Morrie loved Mitch like a son.  Mitch Albom, the narrator, uses flashbacks to help show the immense affection that he and Morrie have for each other.  When Mitch graduated college, he introduced Morrie to his parents.  Morrie told Mitch's parents that their son was a "very special boy".  This shows the affection that Morrie has towards Mitch.  When they were saying their goodbyes, Morrie makes Mitch promise that they will stay in touch.  Mitch promises with the best intentions, but over the years he forgets.  He and Morrie never actually stay in touch.  One night while Mitch is watching TV, he notices Morrie being interviewed by ABC's nightline.  He immediately recognizes Morrie and cannot believe how frail he looks.  The disease has begun to eat away at his physical stature.  Mitch feels bad that he broke his promise of keeping in touch with Morrie and he can't believe that he did not keep in touch with him.  The rest of the novel is devoted to Mitch attempting to make up for all of the time that he missed with Morrie.  Every Tuesday he and Morrie meet, and Morrie teaches him a little more about life.  Morrie informs Mitch that he is not afraid of dying.  That he wishes death were not directly related with the word useless.  The entire novel sends us on an emotional rollercoaster as we learn of the relationship the two have shared, and the degrade of Morrie's physical well-being.  But in the end, we are relatively happy that Morrie is eventually at peace.