Mitch Albom can confirm this firsthand: Even if you’re an internationally renowned writer who authored one of the most beloved and bestselling memoirs of all time, you can still harbor nagging feelings of regret. “There are many things that I would love to do over in my life if I was given a magical ability,” he says.
He channeled those thoughts into his whimsical and tender new novel, Twice. The story chronicles the life of Alfie Logan, who, as a boy, discovers that he can relive any moment and alter its outcome for better … or worse. Using his gift, Alfie fixes mistakes, takes risks and gets a second shot. But after falling for a budding nature photographer named Gianna, he learns the hard way that he can’t rekindle love.
“It’s a story about whether the grass is really greener on the other side. I think this is a theme that a lot of people besides me think about as they get older,” says Albom, whose 20-plus books include The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003), Finding Chika (2019) and, of course, Tuesdays with Morrie, which has sold 18 million copies since its release in 1997. His latest is poised to be another hit—Netflix has already acquired the film rights to the book.
When he’s not writing, Albom keeps ultra busy as a Detroit-based newspaper columnist, broadcaster and philanthropist who runs an orphanage in Haiti. He also recently served as a judge for Reader’s Digest’s 10th annual Nicest Places in America contest (won by Asheville, North Carolina). Just before taking a flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for a book event, he spoke with Reader’s Digest about love, loss and so much more. Read on for the details!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Reader’s Digest: Surprisingly enough, this is your first bona fide romance. What took so long?
Mitch Albom: I mean, all my books except Tuesdays with Morrie had love stories in them. Certainly, all my novels had love stories in them. They just weren’t about love. This one is about love. I don’t know, maybe I didn’t have enough confidence to do it yet. But you live long enough, you love long enough, and maybe you feel you have something to say about it.
Reader’s Digest: Twice is dedicated to your wife, Janine. Is Gianna based on her?
Mitch Albom: For this book, a lot of it came from my own life and my own screwups, especially when I was a teenager with girls. There are a lot of personal stories in there. As far as Gianna, that character was based on my wife, for sure.
Reader’s Digest: So after writing the book, what’s your takeaway about regret?
Mitch Albom: Don’t get caught up in thinking what your life could have been because that alternate version would bring its own set of problems and mistakes. And as a character says to Alfie in the book, “If you keep getting second chances, you won’t learn a damn thing.”
You know, we do learn from our mistakes, and so we do get second chances because the second chance is the next minute of your life. That’s the chance that you have to take everything you’ve learned up to that minute and be better and be smarter. So for me, I wouldn’t trade any mistakes because they all helped me evolve into who I am.
Reader’s Digest: So many of your fans look to your books as a source of inspiration. Are you inspired by reading other people’s books?
Mitch Albom: Not so much books that I’ve read. For me, inspiration comes from people and my non-writing life. Then as a writer, I take that inspiration and put it into a book as opposed to reading books and then sitting and writing. I actually try to read things that are different than what I do. I know it might sound strange, but I try to see how other writers tell stories.
Reader’s Digest: Which books have really had an effect on you?
Mitch Albom: Gilead by Marilynn Robinson was a wonderful book that was very moving and beautifully written. The Color of Water, written by my friend James McBride, is a beautiful family story. Angela’s Ashes, written by Frank McCourt, another guy I knew, is another great family story. Gosh, I wish I were in my library right now and I could just turn around and see what’s on my desk.
Reader’s Digest: Let’s talk about judging the Nicest Places in America contest. What was your personal criteria?
Mitch Albom: “Nice” was part of the title, but it wasn’t really what I looked for in the candidates. For me, it was more about the words inspired and community. There were so many great candidates in how a community came together.
Reader’s Digest: What specifically appealed to you about Asheville?
Mitch Albom: It was my top choice. I’ve seen places like Haiti after the [2010] earthquake, where people rallied to help one another. I’ve also seen places where nobody helped one another. So I’m always very sensitive to challenges in a community and how people respond in that community. I was really moved by what they did in Asheville after Hurricane Helene last year.
Reader’s Digest: Have you ever been there?
Mitch Albom: I have actually been to Asheville! Years ago, I did a story on minor league baseball teams, and it involved the North Carolina farm system. So I went through Asheville and stayed there. It’s a beautiful place.
Reader’s Digest: It’s hard to believe that Tuesdays with Morrie will turn 30 in 2027. Why do you think your story about visiting your ailing former professor remains so timeless, and how do you view it now?
Mitch Albom: Sometimes self-help books are kind of in vogue at that time, and then a new thing comes in vogue. But Morrie wasn’t trying to sell books, and I wasn’t trying to sell books. I was just trying to tell a story about an old man talking to a young man about what’s important in life once the old man knows he’s going to die.
And I think that story is universal. I mean, you could probably go back 100 years, and it would still make sense. And 100 years from now, it will probably still make sense because of the things that Morrie said about loving one another and about work not being the be-all, end-all. These are universal truths.
Rapid response with Mitch Albom
Reader’s Digest: OK, it’s quick question time. Dogs or cats?
Mitch Albom: Dogs.
Reader’s Digest: Window or aisle?
Mitch Albom: Aisle. It’s closer to the bathroom.
Reader’s Digest: Would rather travel to the past or into the future?
Mitch Albom: Oh, I think the past because I could go back and ask, “Why did you do this? Why did you do that?” In the future, I’d probably just be very confused.
Reader’s Digest: What advice would you give to your younger self?
Mitch Albom: Slow down.
More from Mitch Albom
Want more from this beloved author? Check out one of his bestselling books:
- Twice
- Tuesdays with Morrie
- The Five People You Meet in Heaven
- The Next Person You Meet in Heaven
- Finding Chika
- The Stranger in the Lifeboat
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