The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

Mitch Albom wrote the hugely popular The Five People You Meet in Heaven 15 years ago. That story told of Eddie, the maintenance worker who died saving a little girl and the five people he met  in heaven who told him of how his life had impacted theirs.

The sequel, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, focuses on Annie, the little girl that Eddie saved. Annie's now a nurse and is marrying Paulo, but tragedy will strike and both Annie and Paulo will be  injured in a hot balloon accident shortly after their wedding.

Annie, in turn, meets her own five people on the other side of the dividing line between life in this world and life in the next. Dog-lovers will appreciate that one of the "people" she meets is her dog, who at first appears to her as a person. I do believe dogs go to heaven (why wouldn't there be animals in the heavenly city?). I'm not sure they can take human form, but as Scripture says, with God all things are possible. 

Like the first book, this story shows the interconnectedness of life. Our lives touch so many others in ways we can't even begin to imagine and things we believe to be true from our perspective may not be true at all. It seems like a lesson our world desperately needs. This book brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. If you enjoyed The Five People You Meet in Heaven, you will definitely want to read The Next Person You Meet in Heaven.