if you haven't read mitch albom's book, the five people you meet in heaven, then you should. there's nothing preachy or even religious about heaven or God. it is quite generic in this matter, leaving the reader free to apply the story directly to their life and belief system. i found this part truly pleasing because i could apply my belief of purgatory and continuing journey and learning, even spirit guides and guardian angels, but especially the belief in how we are all children of God, bound to each other infinitely in ways we can barely grasp here on earth while living our lives and being concerned for ourselves.
this book affected me on many levels, but what drew into the story first and foremost was the main character's feeling of uselessness. i wanted to know where that came from.
the very few sentences detailing the violence suffered at the hands of his father were awful for me, these were the hand at mouth passages, the sentences i couldn't wait to be over, the scenes described forever etching the character of eddie.
all parents damage their children. it cannot be helped. youth, like pristine glass, absorbs the prints of its handlers. some parents smudge, others crack, a few shatter childhoods completely into jagged little pieces, beyond repair.
this, of course, isn't the only thing which marks eddie..there's the war experience in the phillipines, p.o.w. experiences and escaping but not without a cost of life, etc.
basically, this man is like all of us in a way, he is seeking salvation, love and acceptence.
in my idea of heaven, i will understand everything..i will know exactly how i effected people and their intentions towards me regardless of my perception of their actions. now, i always thought this would be instantaneous because my body would not be with me, i would be spirit only and therefore free of my passions and hinderances here on earth. i am starting to rethink that because of reading this book. how significant is the body to the spirit?