The First Phone Call from Heaven: A Novel - Albom, Mitch Review & Synopsis

 Synopsis

"What if the end is not the end?" 

From the beloved author of the number-one New York Times bestsellers Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven comes his most thrilling and magical novel yet-a page-turning mystery and a meditation on the power of human connection.

One morning in the small town of Coldwater, Michigan, the phones start ringing. The voices say they are calling from heaven. Is it the greatest miracle ever? Or some cruel hoax? As news of these strange calls spreads, outsiders flock to Coldwater to be a part of it.

At the same time, a disgraced pilot named Sully Harding returns to Coldwater from prison to discover his hometown gripped by "miracle fever." Even his young son carries a toy phone, hoping to hear from his mother in heaven.

As the calls increase, and proof of an afterlife begins to surface, the town-and the world-transforms. Only Sully, convinced there is nothing beyond this sad life, digs into the phenomenon, determined to disprove it for his child and his own broken heart.

Moving seamlessly between the invention of the telephone in 1876 and a world obsessed with the next level of communication, Mitch Albom takes readers on a breathtaking ride of frenzied hope.

The First Phone Call from Heaven is Mitch Albom at his best-a virtuosic story of love, history, and belief.

Review

Author One-on-One: Nicholas Sparks and Mitch Albom

 

 Nicholas Sparks is the best-selling author of several beloved novels, with over 80 million copies in print worldwide. His most recent release is The Longest Ride .

 

 Nicholas Sparks: We first met years ago, when Tuesdays with Morrie and The Notebook were just out. What's been the most surprising turn for your career since that day?

 

 Mitch Albom: Pretty much everything. Tuesdays was the first nonsports thing I had done, and it was written only to pay Morrie's medical bills. I figured I'd return to sportswriting. I never imagined novels or the audience I've been blessed to find. I remember you hoping The Notebook would give you more chances to write. I think you've done OK with that, by the way.

 

 NS: Thanks. With this new novel, The First Phone Call from Heaven, heaven once again figures prominently-as it did in The Five People You Meet in Heaven. How do you use it differently this time?

 

 MA: Five People mostly takes place in heaven, to teach Eddie, the protagonist, to appreciate his life on earth. First Phone Call takes place in a small town, with the idea of heaven reaching out to us down here-through the phone.

 

 NS: You wove the story of Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone into this novel. Do you see parallels between that and our modern-day obsession with cell phones? How did this influence your story development?

 

 MA: People scoffed at the telephone's invention. Yet once it was introduced, its growth was astronomical. Same thing with cell phones. I used this to show how the "once impossible" is quickly forgotten. Could the same be true about speaking to heaven?

 

 NS: Hearing from a deceased loved one is such a powerful idea. Whom would you talk to if you had the chance? And if Morrie from Tuesdays with Morrie were one, what would you ask him? 

 

 MA: My mother is still alive, but has suffered several strokes and can't speak. I wish I could dial to the past and engage in one of our long, impassioned, all-over-the-place talks. And Morrie? Well. He never got to read a page of Tuesdays. I'd ask if he is pleased. Am I doing OK by him? Mostly, I'd like to hear his laughter. I think we miss laughter most. 

 

 NS: This is the first novel you've written with a mystery/thriller element. Did that change your writing process at all? And is this how you think the world would really react-global fascination-if proof of heaven were somehow revealed?

 

 MA: It felt quite natural to weave a mystery-perhaps from all those years' writing sports that count down and reach a climax. And yes, I definitely think if a town today claimed to be talking to heaven, it would be on twenty-four hours a day on cable news and the Internet. Look at the Susan Boyle story. In a week, the whole world knew of her-and she just sang like an angel. Imagine talking to one!

 

 NS: Small towns-like Coldwater in First Phone Call-often paint the backdrop of your novels. Why?

 

 MA: I was raised in a small town-local high school, one great pizza place, everyone knowing everyone. So it's familiar. Also, secrets in a small town are hard to keep-and often shocking when revealed. My stories are about people-and sometimes secrets. A small town is a good canvas.

 

 NS: Now that you have so many more books than just Morrie-unlike when we first met-do you have a favorite among them?

 

 MA: Tuesdays will always be my favored child-because it so changed my life. But storywise, Five People means a great deal, because everyone told me I was crazy-don't write a novel. I broke every piece of advice. And people embraced the story. That's extremely rewarding.

Mitch Albom is a bestselling author, screenwriter, playwright and nationally syndicated columnist. The author of five consecutive #1 New York Times bestsellers, his books have collectively sold more than thirty-three million copies in forty-two languages worldwide. Tuesdays With Morrie, which spent four straight years atop the New York Times list, is now the bestselling memoir of all time. Four of Albom's books, including Morrie, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day, and Have a Little Faith, have been made into highly acclaimed TV movies for ABC. Oprah Winfrey produced Tuesdays With Morrie, which claimed four Emmy awards including a best actor nod for Jack Lemmon in the lead role. Albom has founded six charities in and around Detroit, including the first-ever twenty-four-hour medical clinic for homeless children in America, and also operates an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. Albom lives with his wife, Janine, in metropolitan Detroit.

The First Phone Call from Heaven

“A beautifully rendered tale of faith and redemption that makes us think, feel, and hope—and then doubt and then believe, as only Mitch Albom can make us do.”—Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain One morning in the small town of Coldwater, Michigan, the phones start ringing. The voices say they are calling from heaven. Is it the greatest miracle ever? Or some cruel hoax? As news of these strange calls spreads, outsiders flock to Coldwater to be a part of it. At the same time, a disgraced pilot named Sully Harding returns to Coldwater from prison to discover his hometown gripped by “miracle fever.” Even his young son carries a toy phone, hoping to hear from his mother in heaven. As the calls increase, and proof of an afterlife begins to surface, the town—and the world—transforms. Only Sully, convinced there is nothing beyond this sad life, digs into the phenomenon, determined to disprove it for his child and his own broken heart. Moving seamlessly between the invention of the telephone in 1876 and a world obsessed with the next level of communication, Mitch Albom takes readers on a breathtaking ride of frenzied hope. “Beautiful and smart. Perhaps the most stirring and transcendent heaven story since Field of Dreams.” —Matthew Quick, author of The Good Luck of Right Now

“A beautifully rendered tale of faith and redemption that makes us think, feel, and hope—and then doubt and then believe, as only Mitch Albom can make us do.”—Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain One morning in the ..."

Telepon Pertama dari Surga (The First Phone Call from Heaven)

“Bagaimana seandainya akhir bukanlah akhir?” Suatu pagi di Coldwater, Michigan, telepon-telepon mulai berdering. Para peneleponnya berkata mereka menelepon dari surga. Mukjizatkah ini? Atau olok-olok kejam? Ketika berita ini menyebar, banyak orang mulai berdatangan ke Coldwater untuk ikut membuktikan. Pada saat yang sama, Sully Hardings, pilot yang telah kehilangan nama baiknya, baru bebas dari penjara dan mendapati kota tempat tinggalnya sedang mengalami “demam mukjizat.” Bahkan anaknya yang masih kecil membawa-bawa ponsel mainan karena berharap ditelepon ibunya dari surga. Ketika telepon-telepon ini makin sering terjadi, dan bukti adanya kehidupan di alam baka mulai terkuak, kota itu––dan dunia––mulai berubah. Hanya Sully yang tidak percaya. Baginya, tidak ada apa-apa lagi setelah dunia yang penuh kesedihan ini. Dan dia bertekad untuk membuktikannya, bagi anaknya dan bagi dirinya sendiri. Dalam Th e First Phone Call from Heaven, Mitch Albom bertutur dengan fasih tentang kisah cinta, sejarah, dan keyakinan; suatu misteri mendebarkan dan perenungan tentang kekuatan hubungan antarmanusia.

Dalam Th e First Phone Call from Heaven, Mitch Albom bertutur dengan fasih tentang kisah cinta, sejarah, dan keyakinan; suatu misteri mendebarkan dan perenungan tentang kekuatan hubungan antarmanusia."

The First Phone Call From Heaven

FROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER WHOSE BOOKS HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 40 MILLION READERS 'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecilia Ahern __________ One last chance. What would you say? When the residents of a small town on Lake Michigan start receiving phone calls from the afterlife, it becomes the subject of widespread attention. Is it the greatest miracle ever or a massive hoax? Sully Harding, a grief-stricken single father, returns to Coldwater from a stint in prison to discover his hometown gripped by 'miracle fever.' Even his young son carries a toy phone, hoping to hear from his mother in heaven. As the calls increase Sully begins to dig into the phenomenon. Determined to discover who or what is behind the mystery, he gradually begins to piece together the pieces of his broken heart. __________ WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE FIRST PHONE CALL FROM HEAVEN 'Gripping from start to finish . . . The plot twists and turns like a great mystery novel' 'As always, with Mitch Albom's books, the storyline is addictive, leaving the reader wanting more' 'Makes you see the world from a different perspective . . . A real treat for the soul' 'Brilliant and moving read from start to end. Superb' 'Beautifully constructed, thought-provoking and soulful'

FROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER WHOSE BOOKS HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 40 MILLION READERS 'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecilia Ahern __________ One last chance."

Summary of The First Phone Call from Heaven

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book."

The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

In this enchanting sequel to the #1 bestseller The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom tells the story of Eddie’s heavenly reunion with Annie—the little girl he saved on earth—in an unforgettable novel of how our lives and losses intersect. In Mitch Albom’s beloved novel, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, the world fell in love with Eddie, a grizzled war veteran-turned-amusement park mechanic who died saving the life of a young girl named Annie. Eddie’s journey to heaven taught him that every life matters. Now, in this magical sequel, Albom reveals Annie’s story. The accident that killed Eddie left an indelible mark on Annie. It took her left hand, which needed to be surgically reattached. Injured, scarred, and unable to remember why, Annie’s life is forever changed by a guilt-ravaged mother who whisks her away from the world she knew. Bullied by her peers and haunted by something she cannot recall, Annie struggles to find acceptance as she grows. When, as a young woman, she reconnects with Paulo, her childhood love, she believes she has finally found happiness. As the novel opens, Annie is marrying Paulo. But when her wedding night day ends in an unimaginable accident, Annie finds herself on her own heavenly journey—and an inevitable reunion with Eddie, one of the five people who will show her how her life mattered in ways she could not have fathomed. Poignant and beautiful, filled with unexpected twists, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven reminds us that not only does every life matter, but that every ending is also a beginning—we only need to open our eyes to see it.

In this enchanting sequel to the #1 bestseller The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom tells the story of Eddie’s heavenly reunion with Annie—the little girl he saved on earth—in an unforgettable novel of how our lives and ..."

What I Wish I Had Known

I’ve lived my whole life following people and taking their choices as mine. I will dream a new dream, a dream that’s totally my own, and I will work hard to get it. Ever since her acceptance letter to study abroad arrived at her inbox, nothing in Marcella Purnama’s life has gone according to plan. Instead of choosing Science, like her two older sisters did before her, she steered path to study Arts—a degree so alien to both her families and friends. But as she traveled thousands miles away, struggled with English, had her first byline and went back home to apply for her first job, Marcella realized that plans are meant to be changed. Full of relatable tales of horrific group work, falling in love, first job interview and quarter-life crisis, this illuminating account follows how a young adult grapples with life’s small and big questions, and the lessons learned along the way.

I will dream a new dream, a dream that’s totally my own, and I will work hard to get it. Ever since her acceptance letter to study abroad arrived at her inbox, nothing in Marcella Purnama’s life has gone according to plan."

The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom | A 30-minute Summary

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book. The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom | A 30-minute Summary Inside this Instaread Summary:Overview of the entire bookIntroduction to the Important people in the bookSummary and analysis of all the chapters in the bookKey Takeaways of the bookA Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Chapter 1 Tess Rafferty receives the first phone call at her home in Coldwater, Michigan. She is not able to get to the phone in time, and the call goes to the answering machine. When she plays the message back, she is stunned to hear her mother’s voice on the line. Her mother has been dead for four years. The police chief of Coldwater, Jack Sellers, receives the second call. His phone call is from his son, Robbie, who died while on a tour of duty as a soldier in Afghanistan. Katherine Yellin receives the third call. Her call is from her dead sister, Diane. She immediately goes to tell the minister of her church, Pastor Warren, about the call. He has been counseling her, trying to help her deal with her grief. Sullivan Harding is released from prison. He is picked up by his parents and his son and taken home. Chapter 2 Sully Harding walked to the Davidson & Sons Funeral Home to pick up his wife, Giselle’s, cremated remains. While there, he meets Horace Belfin, the funeral director. Tess Rafferty receives another phone call. She is sure the voice belongs to her dead mother. The voice speaks the same way her mother did when she was alive. On a Friday one week after the first call, Police Chief Jack Sellers receives a second call from his dead son. The voice tells Jack that it is awesome where he is and that there are no bad days there. He tells his father that he should not worry about what comes next...

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book."

The Stranger in the Lifeboat

#1 New York Times Bestseller What would happen if we called on God for help and God actually appeared? In Mitch Albom’s profound new novel of hope and faith, a group of shipwrecked passengers pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him. Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in. “Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says. “I am the Lord,” the man whispers. So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet. Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us? In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors in heaven, or are they in hell? The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat. It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened. A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat."

Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie

THE STORY: TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is the autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor. Sixteen years after graduation, Mitch happens to catch Morrie's appear

THE STORY: TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE is the autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor."

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

From the beloved author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven comes his most critically acclaimed novel yet—a stunningly original tale of love: love between a man and a woman, between an artist and his mentor, and between a musician and his God-given talent. Narrated by the voice of Music itself, the story follows Frankie Presto, a war orphan born in a burning church, through his extraordinary journey around the world. Raised by a blind guitar teacher in Spain and gifted with a talent to change people’s lives—using six mysterious blue strings—Frankie navigates the musical landscape of the twentieth century, from the 1950s jazz scene to the Grand Ole Opry to Elvis mania and Woodstock, all the while searching for his childhood love. As he becomes a famous star, he loses his way, until tragedy steals his ability to play the guitar that had so defined him. Overwhelmed by his loss, Frankie disappears for decades, reemerging late in life for one spectacular yet mystifying farewell. Part love story, part magical mystery, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto is Mitch Albom at his finest, a Forrest Gump-like epic about one man’s journey to discover what truly matters and the power of talent to change our lives.

Mitch Albom creates his most unforgettable fictional character—Frankie Presto, the greatest guitarist to ever walk the earth—in this magical novel about the bands we join in life and the power of talent to change our lives."

Tuesdays with Morrie

Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final "class": lessons in how to live. "Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world. "From the Hardcover edition.

"Tuesdays with Morrie is a magical chronicle of their time together, through which Mitch shares Morrie's lasting gift with the world. "From the Hardcover edition."

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

When Eddie dies, trying to save a child from a terrible accident, he wakes up in heaven. Heaven, he discovers, is a place where your life on Earth is finally explained to you.

When Eddie dies, trying to save a child from a terrible accident, he wakes up in heaven. Heaven, he discovers, is a place where your life on Earth is finally explained to you."

And the Winner is

THE STORY: AND THE WINNER IS tells the comic story of Tyler Johnes, a self-obsessed movie star, who is finally nominated for an Oscar, then dies the night before the awards. Outraged at his bad luck and determined to know if he wins (even though he

THE STORY: AND THE WINNER IS tells the comic story of Tyler Johnes, a self-obsessed movie star, who is finally nominated for an Oscar, then dies the night before the awards."

Finding Chika

"Mitch Albom has done it again with this moving memoir of love and loss. You can’t help but fall for Chika. A page-turner that will no doubt become a classic.” --Mary Karr, author of The Liars’ Club and The Art of Memoir From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Tuesdays With Morrie comes Mitch Albom’s most personal story to date: an intimate and heartwarming memoir about what it means to be a family and the young Haitian orphan whose short life would forever change his heart. Chika Jeune was born three days before the devastating earthquake that decimated Haiti in 2010. She spent her infancy in a landscape of extreme poverty, and when her mother died giving birth to a baby brother, Chika was brought to The Have Faith Haiti Orphanage that Albom operates in Port Au Prince. With no children of their own, the forty-plus children who live, play, and go to school at the orphanage have become family to Mitch and his wife, Janine. Chika’s arrival makes a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, even as a three-year-old, she delights the other kids and teachers. But at age five, Chika is suddenly diagnosed with something a doctor there says, “No one in Haiti can help you with.” Mitch and Janine bring Chika to Detroit, hopeful that American medical care can soon return her to her homeland. Instead, Chika becomes a permanent part of their household, and their lives, as they embark on a two-year, around-the-world journey to find a cure. As Chika’s boundless optimism and humor teach Mitch the joys of caring for a child, he learns that a relationship built on love, no matter what blows it takes, can never be lost. Told in hindsight, and through illuminating conversations with Chika herself, this is Albom at his most poignant and vulnerable. Finding Chika is a celebration of a girl, her adoptive guardians, and the incredible bond they formed—a devastatingly beautiful portrait of what it means to be a family, regardless of how it is made.

Told in hindsight, and through illuminating conversations with Chika herself, this is Albom at his most poignant and vulnerable."

The Fab Five

Recounts the remarkable story of University of Michigan basketball players Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, and chronicles their success in the NCAA tournaments of 1992 and 1993.

Recounts the remarkable story of University of Michigan basketball players Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, and chronicles their success in the NCAA tournaments of 1992 and 1993."

Summary of the First Phone Call from Heaven

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book. The First Phone Call from Heaven by Mitch Albom | A 30-minute Summary Inside this Instaread Summary: Overview of the entire book Introduction to the Important people in the book Summary and analysis of all the chapters in the book Key Takeaways of the book A Reader's Perspective Preview of this summary: Chapter 1 Tess Rafferty receives the first phone call at her home in Coldwater, Michigan. She is not able to get to the phone in time, and the call goes to the answering machine. When she plays the message back, she is stunned to hear her mother's voice on the line. Her mother has been dead for four years. The police chief of Coldwater, Jack Sellers, receives the second call. His phone call is from his son, Robbie, who died while on a tour of duty as a soldier in Afghanistan. Katherine Yellin receives the third call. Her call is from her dead sister, Diane. She immediately goes to tell the minister of her church, Pastor Warren, about the call. He has been counseling her, trying to help her deal with her grief. Sullivan Harding is released from prison. He is picked up by his parents and his son and taken home. Chapter 2 Sully Harding walked to the Davidson & Sons Funeral Home to pick up his wife, Giselle's, cremated remains. While there, he meets Horace Belfin, the funeral director. Tess Rafferty receives another phone call. She is sure the voice belongs to her dead mother. The voice speaks the same way her mother did when she was alive. On a Friday one week after the first call, Police Chief Jack Sellers receives a second call from his dead son. The voice tells Jack that it is awesome where he is and that there are no bad days there. He tells his father that he should not worry about what comes next...

PLEASE NOTE: This is a summary of the book and NOT the original book."

The Time Keeper

Given one last chance at redemption, Father Time, the inventor of the world's first clock, must teach two earthly people the true meaning of time – a journey that leads him to a teenage girl who is about to give up on life and a wealthy businessman who wants to live forever. (general fiction).

Given one last chance at redemption, Father Time, the inventor of the world's first clock, must teach two earthly people the true meaning of time – a journey that leads him to a teenage girl who is about to give up on life and a wealthy ..."

The Little Liar

Beloved bestselling author Mitch Albom returns with a powerful novel that moves from a small village in Greece during the Holocaust, to America, where the intertwined lives of three survivors are forever changed by the perils of deception and the grace of redemption. Eleven-year-old Nico Crispi never told a lie. When the Nazi's invade his home in Salonika, Greece, the trustworthy boy is discovered by a German officer, who offers him a chance to save his family. All Nico has to do is convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading towards "the east" where they are promised jobs and safety. Unaware that this is all a cruel ruse, the innocent boy goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. But when the final train is at the station, Nico sees his family being loaded into a large boxcar crowded with other neighbors. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that he helped send the people he loved--and all the others--to their doom at Auschwitz. Nico never tells the truth again. In The Little Liar, his first novel set during the Holocaust, Mitch Albom interweaves the stories of Nico, his brother Sebastian, and their schoolmate Fanni, who miraculously survive the death camps and spend years searching for Nico, who has become a pathological liar, and the Nazi officer who radically changed their lives. As the decades pass, Albom reveals the consequences of what they said, did, and endured. A moving parable that explores honesty, survival, revenge and devotion, The Little Liar is Mitch Albom at his very best. Narrated by the voice of Truth itself, it is a timeless story about the harm we inflict with our deceits, and the power of love to ultimately redeem us.

In The Little Liar, his first novel set during the Holocaust, Mitch Albom interweaves the stories of Nico, his brother Sebastian, and their schoolmate Fanni, who miraculously survive the death camps and spend years searching for Nico, who ..."

Have a Little Faith

Relates the author's efforts to eulogize a beloved rabbi who is near death, while at the same time befriending a Detroit pastor who gives spiritual guidance to the poor and homeless, and describes how observing these two different religious leaders rekindled his own faith.

Relates the author's efforts to eulogize a beloved rabbi who is near death, while at the same time befriending a Detroit pastor who gives spiritual guidance to the poor and homeless, and describes how observing these two different religious ..."