[Dion]

The book has had a low-key presence on the Brandeis campus. It was mentioned several times in the alumni news. The University gave a copy of the book to all seniors one year for the senior class forum. Sociologist Maury Stein uses the book in teaching a course on Birth and Death. From their long friendship, Stein remarks on Schwartz’ charm, “but no one knew how telegenic he was until Nightline.”

Stein notes that Morrie was very affected by the sudden death of their mutual colleague Irv Zola. The packed funeral and loving tributes led him to remark, from his wheelchair, “I am not going to let that happen to me.” He saw the terminal diagnosis from ALS as a “gift” that allowed him to share and receive love while he was alive. The book recounts his “living funeral” where friends came and made tributes while he was alive to hear and enjoy them. “He had renewed energy at the end of his life. He was answering 200-300 letters a week from people who had seen him on television. He taught his final graduate class with ALS gradually incapacitating him,” says Stein.

Stein feels that the appeal of the book is “a reconstruction of what is possible in the dying process. Morrie showed it can be a lively, communicative process and that wisdom and growth are possible in the late stages of illness.” Many people reading the book no doubt have had someone close to them die with a scenario that diverges from Morrie’s loving embrace. Indeed, one of the most poignant passages in the book centers on Morrie’s description of the death of his mother, when he was a child, and the death of his father years later. Then and now, death is shut away and not discussed when it happens or even in later years. This social psychologist realized the harm in that approach and used his Tuesday reflections to suggest a different path.

http://www.asanet.org/footnotes/feb01/fn3.html