‘We All Need Faith at Some Point’: Mitch Albom on Love, Regret and Second Chances (EXCLUSIVE)
The bestselling author of 'Tuesdays With Morrie' opens up about what truly matters
From Tuesdays with Morrie to The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom has sold more than 40 million books—and his newest novel, Twice, is out now. Albom is known for his inspiring, heartfelt stories about life, faith and hope. But in his latest novel, Albom turns his keen eye—for the first time—toward love, romance and the magic of second chances. “I reached the point in my life where you ask yourself, Should I have done something differently? Would I have?” he tells Woman’s World. “I think that’s a universal feeling—that’s what this book is about.”
In fact, all of Albom’s books are driven by real-life questions and moments. His breakout bestseller, Tuesdays with Morrie, was the result of a series of conversations with his favorite college professor, Morrie Schwartz. The book asked: What makes a meaningful life? Here, we had the chance to sit down with Albom to discuss his new novel, his inspirations, the life-altering choices that, ultimately, shape who we become—and the power of asking ‘what if?’
Keep scrolling for our exclusive Q&A.
Woman’s World: Thank you for sitting down with us, Mitch! What first drew you to storytelling? Did you always know you wanted to become an author?
Mitch Albom: Thank you for having me! No, I was an accidental author. [laughs] I read a lot as a kid, but I never wrote. I was a musician—that’s all I ever really wanted to be. I only went to college because my parents said, ‘You can be a musician, but you’re going to college first.’ My plan was to go, graduate and start a music career. I lived overseas and in New York City, playing gigs and trying to make it.
Eventually, I volunteered at a local newspaper. I had never written anything journalistic before, but I had read enough newspapers to mimic the style. The next week, I picked up the paper and saw my story—on the bottom of the front page. My byline was in print for the first time. I felt this little tingle in my stomach, that sense of, ‘I made something.’ So I went back. Did it again. Then again. I worked there for six months for free. Finally, they said, ‘Well, you’re here all the time, we’ll start paying you.’ They gave me $25 a week.
WW: How amazing! You mentioned being ‘an accidental author.’ Can you share how Tuesdays with Morrie came to be?
MA: Well, I never planned on writing a book. I only wrote Tuesdays with Morrie to help pay medical bills. I was just visiting with Morrie—we were taping our conversations, mostly so I could have them after he was gone. One day, I asked him, ‘What do you fear most with the disease you have?’ And he said, ‘I fear the medical debt I’m going to leave my family.’ That stayed with me. I got the idea that I could help him raise money by writing a book, so we continued having conversations.
WW: Was selling the book an easy feat?
MA: Not at first. I went around to publishers in New York and explained what I was doing. I told them I thought there was a germ of something special here. But everyone said no. They told me I was nuts. I was just a sportswriter—why would anyone care? Every publisher turned it down. Finally, one—Doubleday—said yes. That was just three weeks before Morrie died. So I told them I needed a specific amount from the advance to cover his bills, and that’s what they gave us. And I gave all of it to Morrie. He was so very surprised—and very happy. It meant a lot.
WW: Did you think the book would turn into such a beloved bestseller?
MA: I honestly didn’t think anyone would read the book. Morrie never even got to read the final version. The important thing is, his family didn’t have to sell their house. I wrote the book very simply. I was so green, so naïve—I came from sportswriting, where they wanted 300-page books. That was even in the contract. But I wrote it on a typewriter, triple-spaced and it came out to 300 pages. In truth, it was only about 160 pages once formatted. I kept it tight because when you write about death, there’s a tendency to wax poetic or think you’re a better writer than you are.
I just wanted to be honest. The publisher called and said, ‘We have a problem—this book is too short.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s all I’ve got.’ Eventually, they agreed to publish it as a small book. And that’s what Tuesdays with Morrie is—a small book that somehow became this incredibly surprising success.”
WW: It seems like your books find people at times when they need them. Where do your ideas come from?
MA: “It’s funny, I actually find that I write my books when I need them. They come to me in moments of emotional need—when I’m searching for the same lessons the story is trying to teach. Take For One More Day, for example. It’s about a man who gets one more day with his mother, who passed away 20 years earlier. I wrote that before my own mother passed, but she was getting older and I used to call her every morning. One day I hung up the phone and thought, ‘There’s going to come a time when I’ll go to call her, and I’ll forget she’s gone. I’ll have to put the phone back down.’ That thought filled me with sadness and longing. I remember thinking, ‘This is something a lot of people must go through.’ So I wrote the book—and I ended up giving it to her. It turned out to be the last book of mine she ever read.”
“We all need faith at some point in life. It may come at different times but the need itself is shared.”
WW: That’s beautiful. Whether they’re going through grief, loss or questions of faith, what do you hope your books bring to people?
MA: “Many readers have connected with these stories in the exact way I connected with the experience when I wrote them. That’s taught me something important: Our emotions are more universal than we realize. You’re going to experience grief, and I’m going to experience grief—it might look different, but it’s still grief. You’ll miss your mother one way, I’ll miss mine another—but we both miss our mothers. We all need faith at some point in life. It may come at different times, but the need itself is shared. We’re all connected.”
WW: Let’s talk about your new novel, ‘Twice’. What does this book mean to you?
MA: “My latest book is about that feeling of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side.’ You know, when you’re in your 20s, 30s—even your 40s—you might ask those questions, but there’s still time to go do something about it. You can change careers in your early 40s. You can decide whether or not to have kids. There’s flexibility. But in your 50s or 60s, it’s different. Some doors don’t open as easily anymore. That’s where the idea for Twice came from. I didn’t want to write a time-travel book where someone goes back over and over again. I wanted to ask: What if you got just one chance to live your life again—just once—and make different choices? How would you change things, knowing you’d have to live with the consequences?”
WW: This is also the first time you’ve really written about love and romance. What has the reaction been like so far?
MA: “Well, one of the biggest questions in the ‘what if’ scenario is love. Am I with the right person? Should I have stayed with someone from my past? What about that one person I met on a trip—those magical few days that never turned into anything because we lost touch? We all have those what-ifs. When I started telling people about the idea—before I’d even written the book—the reaction was immediate. I didn’t have to explain the plot or pitch it hard. I’d say, ‘It’s about a guy who gets to live his life twice, but he has to live with the consequences of his second choices,’ and people would just go, ‘Oh my God.’ The response to early galleys has been unlike anything I’ve experienced before. There’s just something about this story that resonates with people right away. There’s an instant connection.”
This story originally appeared in the 10/6 print issue of Woman’s World magazine. Purchase a copy of it here. And pick up your copy of Twice—out now—here.
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