Tuesdays with Morrie

an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lesson

The Book in One Paragraph

This is quite an easy read, yet it’s filled with profound wisdom. It tells the story of Morrie Schwartz, a dying sociology professor, and his former student Mitch, who’s going through a midlife crisis of sorts. As Morrie faces his final days, he shares weekly lessons on the meaning of life, death, love, and purpose. Mitch decides to collect these conversations into a well-organized book that explores life’s biggest questions and gently reminds us what really matters.

Level of Difficulty

2. Light Concentration: You don’t need any previous background or preparation for this one—it’s simple, heartfelt, and written in a very conversational tone. It flows naturally, but the reflections hit deep. It’s the kind of book that you can read in a few sittings, yet it stays with you long after you finish.

Practical Takeaways

Many of your daily problems are simply not as important as they feel in the moment. Perspective is everything.
Life should be enjoyed more—stop waiting for the perfect time, because it will never come.
Family is, if not the most important thing in life, definitely one of the pillars of true happiness.
A good professor or mentor, when they connect with you deeply, can stay with you for life.
You’ll always regret more the things you didn’t do than the things you did.

Something extra to do while reading

Try journaling as you go. After each chapter, take a few minutes to reflect on the theme—whether it’s love, work, aging, or forgiveness—and ask yourself: How am I currently doing in this area of my life? Write it down honestly. You’ll be surprised at how eye-opening it becomes, and it’s a great way to measure where you can grow.

Who Should Read this Book?

Honestly, this is a book for everyone—no matter where you are in life. Whether you’re a teenager trying to figure out your path, an adult caught up in the rush of work and responsibilities, or someone reflecting later in life, this book offers wisdom that applies universally. It’s the kind of read that makes you stop, breathe, and re-evaluate what’s truly important.

Personal Thoughts

To me, this book feels like a gateway—an introduction to all the important topics that make up a meaningful life: death, family, love, aging, spirituality, and purpose. It doesn’t go too deep into any single theme, but that’s actually its charm. Tuesdays with Morrie gives you a taste of wisdom that’s easy to digest and immediately applicable.

If you’re someone who’s curious about personal growth but doesn’t want a heavy or overly philosophical read, this is perfect. Think of it as that feel-good movie that isn’t the most artistic or technically complex piece you’ve seen, but leaves you smiling and thoughtful when the credits roll.

For me, it’s a book that helps you take inventory of your life—where you are, what you value, and what you might be neglecting. It’s not about fixing everything overnight; it’s about remembering that, at the end of the day, the things that matter most are love, connection, and kindness. Morrie’s lessons are simple but timeless, and sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.

Key quotes and passages

Here are some of the key ideas I found while reading. Feel free to go over them—you might find something that clicks with you or offers a bit of inspiration.

My days were full, yet I remained, much of the time, unsatisfied. What happened to me? – Page 34.

The culture we have does no make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. – Page 42.

He took more time eating and looking at nature and wasted no time in front of TV sitcoms or "movies of the week". He had created a cocoon of human activities- conversation, interaction, affection- and it filled his life like an overflowing soup bowl. – Page 43.

So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to your community around you, and devote youself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. – Page 43.

The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in. – Page 52.

Sometime when you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too- even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling. – Page 61.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops- Henry Adams. – Page 79.

But there's a better approach. To know you're going to die, and to be prepared for it at any time. That's better. That way you can actually be more involved in your life while you're living. – Page 81.

Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live. – Page 82.

... even I don't know what "spiritual development" really means. But I do know we're deficient in some way. We are too involved in materialistic things, and they don't satisfy us. The loving relationships we have, the universe around us, we take these things for granted. – Page 84.

... there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family... If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all. Love is so supremely important... "love each other or perish". – Page 91.

There is no experience like having children... If you want the experience of having complete responsability for another human being, and to learn how to love and bond in the deepest way, the you should have children. – Page 93.

Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent... But detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully. That's how you are able to leave it. – Page 103.

By throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what love is. You know what grief is. And only then can you say, "All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment." Page 104.

It's very simple. As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed at twenty-two, you'd always be as ignorant as you were at twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It's growth. It's more than the negative that you're going to die, it's also the positive that you understand you're going to die, and that you live a better life because of it. Page 118.

The truth is, you don't get satisfaction from those material things. You know what really gives you satisfaction?... Offering others what you have to give. Page 126.

Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. Page 127.

... if you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down at you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Page 127.

... love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone. Page 133.

When Morrie was with you, he was really with you. He looked straight in the eye, and he listened as if you were the only person in the world. Page 135.

Is there some kind of rule to know if a marriage is going to work?... there are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike... And the biggest one of those values?... Your belief in the importance of marriage. Page 149.

Look no matter where you live, the biggest defect we human beings have is our shortsightedness. We don't see what we could be. We should be looking at your potential, streching ourselves into everything we can become. But if you're surrounded by people who say "I want mine now", you end up with a few people with everything and a military to keep the poor ones from rising up and stealing it. Page 156.

The problem Mitch, is that we don't believe we are as much alike as we are. Whites and blacks, Catholics and Protestants, men and women. If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about out own. Page 156.

Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you. Page 157.

Be compassionate... And take responsability for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much a better place. Page 163.

It's not just other people we need to forgive... We also need to forgive ourselves... For all the things we didn't do. All the things we should have done. You can't get stuck on the regrets of what should have happened. That doesn't help you when you get to where I am. Page 166.

Its natural to die... the fact that we make such a big hullabaloo over it is all because we don't see ourselves as part of nature. We think because we're human we're something above nature. Page 173.

After all these months, lying there, unable to move a leg or foot- how could he find perfection in such an average day? Then I realized this was the whole point. Page 176.

Taking just makes me feel like I'm dying. Giving makes me feel like I'm living... That you spent your days giving. Of your time. Your heart. Of yourself. That's how you live on, for a day, or through others, generations. Page 199-201.