Most often you will find me in the non-fiction section looking for different ways to manage life. I have always enjoyed the self-help section and living with grief, it becomes your go-to aisle for tips and tricks on how to survive and maybe even flourish.  So, I am not sure what led me to stray into the fiction aisle and pick up Mitch Albom’s book “The First Phone Call from Heaven”, but I did.  And I was not disappointed.

Mitch is best known for his best seller, “Tuesdays with Morrie” and his new novel has the same sentimental components of human compassion. This story, of a paranormal event in a small Michigan town has its’ residents believing that the dead are calling them from heaven.  The whole town believes it is a miracle and news of this travels bringing outsiders to visit. All except for one resident, a discredited pilot named Sully.  The story centers on Sully and why he does not believe. He sets out to prove the town wrong.

The story is about loss and unanswered questions and the anger that grief brings. Sully’s character is relatable; you feel his pain. You can understand his disbelief, your brain knows that the dead are not calling. Yet, as you read this book, you are filled with a hope that Sully is wrong.  

Mitch writes, “What do you do when the dead return?  It is the thing people most fear-yet, in some cases, most desire.” That is the key to why this book is a page turner. When you live with loss, your number one wish is to hear or hold or see your loved one again.  Just one more time. Mitch’s story is all about that and the reader gets drawn into thinking ‘what if this was possible?  Oh, God let this be possible.’

The story’s plot is one of mystery and the characters seem to come alive leaving the reader to feel that they are in this small town and witnessing this phenomenon first-hand. As one who says I don’t have time for fiction, this book is a favorite I could read again. 

I won’t provide any spoiler alerts but let’s just say that the end has a twist that leaves you sitting there, holding the book, and not wanting to close it.