THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN is a
wonderfully moving fable that addresses the
meaning of life, and life after death, in the
poignant way that made TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE such
an astonishing book. The novel's protagonist is
an elderly amusement park maintenance worker
named Eddie who, while operating a ride called
the 'Free Fall', dies while trying to save a
young girl who gets in the way of a falling cart
that hurtles to earth. Eddie goes to heaven,
where he meets five people who were unexpectedly
instrumental in some way in his life. While each
guide takes him through heaven, Eddie learns a
little bit more about what his time on earth
meant, what he was supposed to have learned, and
what his true purpose on earth was. Throughout
there are dramatic flashbacks where we see
scenes from his troubled childhood, his years in
the army in the Philippines jungle, and with his
first and only love, his wife Marguerite.