# Mitch Albom

> A Detroit sports columnist whose book about visits with his dying college professor became one of the best-selling memoirs ever, followed by a run of novels about heaven, time and second chances.

- Author and columnist · Tuesdays with Morrie · The Five People You Meet in Heaven
- Known for: *Tuesdays with Morrie* (1997), which spent 205 weeks on the *New York Times* best-seller list, and novels including *The Five People You Meet in Heaven*; his books have sold more than 40 million copies.[1]
- Born: May 23, 1958
- Last updated: 2026-11-14
- Editorial review: approved 2026-11-15
- Web page: https://authorbackstories.com/authors/mitch-albom/
- Reading list (PDF): https://authorbackstories.com/authors/mitch-albom/reading-list.pdf

## Featured book: Newest book

*Twice* (2025). A novel about a man who can go back and redo any moment once, but must live with the new outcome, told around his love for one woman; Harper published it on October 7, 2025.[2][3]

## At a glance

- Born: Mitchell David Albom, May 23, 1958, in Passaic, New Jersey[1]
- Education: Brandeis University (BA, sociology, 1979); Columbia University (master's degrees in journalism and business)[1]
- Day job: Columnist for the *Detroit Free Press* since 1985[1]
- Journalism honours: Named the nation's best sports columnist a record 13 times by the Associated Press Sports Editors[1]
- Charities: SAY Detroit, A Hole in the Roof Foundation, and the Have Faith Haiti Mission and Orphanage in Port-au-Prince[1]

## Mitch Albom's Backstory

### Early life

Mitch Albom was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on May 23, 1958, lived briefly in Buffalo, and grew up in Oaklyn, New Jersey, near Philadelphia.[1] He taught himself piano at ten.[1] He earned a degree in sociology at Brandeis University in 1979, where one of his professors was Morrie Schwartz, and then master's degrees in journalism and business at Columbia University, paying part of his way by playing piano.[1]

### Sports writing

He wrote for the *Queens Tribune* and freelanced for *Sports Illustrated* and *The Philadelphia Inquirer* before joining the *Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel* in 1983.[1] In 1985 the *Detroit Free Press* hired him as its lead sports columnist, and in 1989 he added a weekly non-sports column that was later syndicated.[1] The Associated Press Sports Editors named him the nation's best sports columnist a record 13 times.[1] His first books were collections of columns and sports books, among them *Bo* (1989), written with the Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler, which became his first *New York Times* best seller, and *Fab Five* (1993).[1] In 2005 he and four editors were briefly suspended over a column that wrongly said two former players had attended a game.[1]

### Tuesdays with Morrie

Years later Albom reconnected with Schwartz, who by then had ALS, and the conversations they had became his best-known book.[1] *Tuesdays with Morrie*, published in 1997 with a first printing of 20,000 copies, reached number one on the *New York Times* list and stayed on it for 205 weeks; it has sold more than 20 million copies in 45 languages.[1] He has said his rule for the book was to keep it simple, and that the first 300-page manuscript was cut to about 175 pages.[4] A 1999 television film won four Emmy Awards, and a stage version he wrote with Jeffrey Hatcher opened Off Broadway in 2002.[1]

### Novels

His first novel, *The Five People You Meet in Heaven* (2003), was adapted as a 2004 TV film that was the most-watched of that year.[1][8] Novels including *For One More Day* (2006), *The Time Keeper* (2012) and *The First Phone Call from Heaven* (2013) followed, and a sequel, *The Next Person You Meet in Heaven* (2018), and *The Stranger in the Lifeboat* (2021) both debuted at number one on the *New York Times* list.[1] *The Little Liar* (2023) is set in occupied Greece, and *Twice* (2025) is about a man who can relive a moment only once.[1][2] His books have sold more than 40 million copies.[1]

### Detroit and Haiti

He founded several charities in Detroit, including SAY Detroit, which funds homeless shelters, and A Hole in the Roof Foundation, which helps faith groups repair buildings used to serve homeless people.[1] Since 2010 he and his wife have run the Have Faith Haiti Mission and Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, which has housed more than 70 children.[1] They adopted Chika Jeune, a girl from the orphanage who had a brain tumor and died in 2017 at age seven; he wrote about her in *Finding Chika* (2019).[1] He still writes a column for the *Free Press*.[6]

## Fun facts

- He taught himself piano at ten and paid for part of his schooling by playing piano.[1]
- The first printing of *Tuesdays with Morrie* was 20,000 copies; the book reached number one on the *New York Times* list about six months after it first appeared there.[1]
- He has said his first manuscript of *Tuesdays with Morrie* ran about 300 pages and was cut to roughly 175, following his rule to "keep it simple."[4]
- From 1995 until the band broke up in 2012 he played in the Rock Bottom Remainders, a rock band of authors.[1]
- He co-wrote "Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song)," which Warren Zevon recorded.[1]
- His first musical, *Hockey – The Musical!*, was staged in 2016; he has also written plays, including *Ernie*, about the Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell.[1]
- In March 2024 he and nine other American volunteers were evacuated from Haiti by helicopter during political upheaval.[1]
- He hosts a podcast, *Tuesday People*, based on *Tuesdays with Morrie*.[1]

## Books

In order of first publication; each series is kept together in reading order.

Titles and first-publication years from the bibliography in Albom's Wikipedia entry, with *Twice* from its Kirkus review; his plays and song lyrics are left out.[1][2]

- 1988: *Live Albom: The Best of Detroit Free Press Sports Columnist Mitch Albom* (Nonfiction). A collection of his sports columns.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Live%20Albom%3A%20The%20Best%20of%20Detroit%20Free%20Press%20Sports%20Columnist%20Mitch%20Albom%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 1989: *Bo* (Nonfiction, with Bo Schembechler). The Michigan football coach's autobiography; Albom's first *New York Times* best seller.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Bo%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 1990: *Live Albom II* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Live%20Albom%20II%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 1992: *Live Albom III: Gone to the Dogs* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Live%20Albom%20III%3A%20Gone%20to%20the%20Dogs%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 1993: *Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, the American Dream* (Nonfiction). About the University of Michigan's five freshman basketball starters.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Fab%20Five%3A%20Basketball%2C%20Trash%20Talk%2C%20the%20American%20Dream%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 1995: *Live Albom IV* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Live%20Albom%20IV%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 1997: *Tuesdays with Morrie* (Memoir). Spent 205 weeks on the *New York Times* best-seller list.[1] ISBN 9780385484510. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780385484510) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780385484510)
- **The Five People You Meet in Heaven** (series, 2 books, 2003–2018)
  - 2003: Book 1, *The Five People You Meet in Heaven* (Novel). His first novel.[1] ISBN 9781401308582. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9781401308582) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9781401308582)
  - 2018: Book 2, *The Next Person You Meet in Heaven* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Next%20Person%20You%20Meet%20in%20Heaven%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2006: *For One More Day* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=For%20One%20More%20Day%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2009: *Have a Little Faith: A True Story* (Nonfiction). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Have%20a%20Little%20Faith%3A%20A%20True%20Story%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2012: *The Time Keeper* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Time%20Keeper%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2013: *The First Phone Call from Heaven* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20First%20Phone%20Call%20from%20Heaven%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2015: *The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Magic%20Strings%20of%20Frankie%20Presto%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2019: *Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family* (Memoir). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Finding%20Chika%3A%20A%20Little%20Girl%2C%20an%20Earthquake%2C%20and%20the%20Making%20of%20a%20Family%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2020: *Human Touch: A Story in Real Time* (Nonfiction). Published free on his website, with donations going to SAY Detroit.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Human%20Touch%3A%20A%20Story%20in%20Real%20Time%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2021: *The Stranger in the Lifeboat* (Novel). [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Stranger%20in%20the%20Lifeboat%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2023: *The Little Liar* (Novel). Historical fiction set in occupied Greece.[1] [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=The%20Little%20Liar%20Mitch%20Albom)
- 2025: *Twice* (Novel). ISBN 9780062406682. [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/131187/9780062406682) · [WorldCat](https://www.worldcat.org/isbn/9780062406682)

## Latest news

- June 14, 2026: In a *Detroit Free Press* column written as a commencement address for the class of 2026, he urged graduates to put their phones away and look for meaning in community and giving.[6]
- Oct. 27, 2025: Promoting *Twice* at Point Loma Nazarene University's Writer's Symposium by the Sea, he told students to treat writing as a daily job and said he works best from 7 to 10 a.m.[5]
- Oct. 7, 2025: Harper published *Twice*; he told NPR the idea came from watching how past choices harden into "if only" regrets as people age.[2][4]

## Adaptations and other media

### Television

- *Tuesdays with Morrie* (1999). Based on *Tuesdays with Morrie*. A television film; it was the most-watched TV movie of 1999 and won four Emmy Awards.[1]
- *The Five People You Meet in Heaven* (2004). Based on *The Five People You Meet in Heaven*. A television film; it was the most-watched TV movie of 2004.[1]
- *For One More Day* (2007). Based on *For One More Day*. A television film of the novel.[1]
- *Have a Little Faith* (2011). Based on *Have a Little Faith: A True Story*. A Hallmark Hall of Fame television film.[1]

### Stage

- *Tuesdays with Morrie* (2002). Based on *Tuesdays with Morrie*. A stage version Albom wrote with Jeffrey Hatcher, which opened Off Broadway on November 19, 2002.[1]

## Timeline

- May 23, 1958: Born in Passaic, New Jersey; grows up in Oaklyn, New Jersey.[1]
- 1979: Graduates from Brandeis University with a degree in sociology.[1]
- 1985: Becomes lead sports columnist at the *Detroit Free Press*.[1]
- 1989: *Bo*, written with Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, is his first *New York Times* best seller.[1]
- 1997: Publishes *Tuesdays with Morrie*, about his visits with his former professor Morrie Schwartz.[1]
- 1999: The TV film of *Tuesdays with Morrie* wins four Emmy Awards.[1]
- 2003: Publishes his first novel, *The Five People You Meet in Heaven*.[1]
- 2010: Begins running the Have Faith Haiti Mission and Orphanage in Port-au-Prince with his wife.[1]
- 2019: Publishes *Finding Chika*, about the Haitian girl he and his wife adopted, who died in 2017.[1]
- Oct. 7, 2025: *Twice* is published.[2]

## What's next

*No new book has been announced.*

## Sources

1. [Mitch Albom](https://wiki.krisyotam.com/content/wikipedia_en_all_nopic_2026-03/Mitch_Albom). Wikipedia (March 2026 snapshot). (reference)
2. [Twice](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mitch-albom/twice-2/). Kirkus Reviews. (news)
3. [Twice: A Novel](https://massivebookshop.com/products/9780062406682). Massive Bookshop. (website)
4. ['Twice' author Mitch Albom asks what if you could relive any moment of your life](https://www.wlrn.org/npr-breaking-news/2025-10-13/twice-author-mitch-albom-asks-what-if-you-could-relive-any-moment-of-your-life). NPR (via WLRN). (news)
5. [Mitch Albom returns to Writer's Symposium by the Sea](https://lomabeat.com/?p=24039). The Point (Point Loma Nazarene University). (news)
6. [A commencement address for today's high school grads](https://www.mitchalbom.com/a-commencement-address-for-todays-high-school-grads/). Mitch Albom (Detroit Free Press column). (primary record)
7. [Tuesdays with Morrie](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/1588/tuesdays-with-morrie-by-mitch-albom/9780385484510). Penguin Random House. (primary record)
8. [The Five People You Meet in Heaven](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/mitch-albom/the-five-people-you-meet-in-heaven/9781401308582/). Hachette Book Group. (primary record)