The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (2018)

TL;DR: Girl dies and meets five people in heaven; along the way she learn five lessons and then something else.


<Spoiler Alert!>



Annie lives. In "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", Eddie sacrifices his life for Annie to live. All this happens on Ruby Pier, an amusement park, when one of its rides malfunctions and almost hits Annie. Fast forward 20+ years, Annie has her own life, a strained relationship with her mother, and a whole lot of resentment into her soul. 


Luckily, she is about to get married to her childhood sweetheart. One day after their wedding, they ride a hot-air balloon which meets an accident. The wind blows. Annie dies.



She meets five people. Her doctor, her dog, her mom, Eddie, and her childhood sweetheart.



Her doctor tells her:

When we build, we build on the shoulders of those who came before us. And when we fall apart, those who came before us help us put us back together
Her dog, (yes.. her dog) tells her:
Your loneliness gave me a home. [...] The end of loneliness is when someone needs you.
Her mom tells her the whole story of what happened to them including their secrets and all built-up resentments from both of them. Her mom teaches her about forgiveness and grace. 


Next she meets Eddie and talks to her about Mistakes and Salvation. This is since she always felt like she kept making them.

The wrongs we do open doors to do right.
Finally, (again spoiler..) her husband. Her husband dies and talks about loss and love.
You lose something every day you live
Annie lives.
As a sequel, this comes off 15 years after "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". It's a good story. It wasn't bad. I just don't feel as much connection with the characters. (On the other hand, Mitch Albom's The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto was awesome). 

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