Summary

In “Me,” twenty years before Chika came to live with Albom, he paid a visit to Morrie Schwartz, an old college professor who was dying of ALS. He felt guilty because he had promised Schwartz, that he would stay in touch. Instead, Albom had been working five jobs trying to build his reputation as a journalist. He had learned Schwartz was sick when he saw the professor being interviewed on television.

When Albom visited Schwartz, Schwartz told him: “Dying is only one thing to be sad about, Mitch. Living unhappily is something else” (69). Albom visited again and again, and even wrote a book about Schwartz’s attitude during his last months. Albom suggests that this experience with Schwartz might seem like the Lord’s preparation for Albom’s time with Chika. Albom explains that dealing with a girl dying at the beginning of her...