Decades After ‘Tuesdays With Morrie,' Family Shares New Book of His Wisdom

The bestselling book "Tuesdays with Morrie" introduced the world to a Brandeis University professor full of insight on life and death.

Morrie Schwartz, the subject of the book by former student Mitch Albom, never saw its success of course. Morrie passed away in 1995 from ALS.

But he was an aspiring author. His son, Rob recently fulfilled that goal, by publishing a book Morrie never got to print.

The TV movie and book that inspired it made Morrie Schwartz a household name 25 years ago. "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom sat on the New York Times bestseller list for years.

The book, full of introspective thoughts on life and death from a man who was dying, is even being used in educational curriculum.

Now, more of the former Brandeis sociology professor’s insight is printed in a new book, "The Wisdom of Morrie,” thanks to his youngest son, Rob, who discovered the manuscript.

“I pulled open his desk drawer and there was this completed manuscript which I had remembered, you know, talking to him about. So, it was a revelation,” said Rob. He made the discovery in his family’s Newton, Massachusetts home, years after his father had passed. “This book is his thoughts and his feelings and his ideas on how to remain vigorous and creative and vibrant and joyous while you age.”

Morrie tried to get the book published back in the early 90s.

“This doesn't have any academic language in it. This is for regular people. He tried to get it published and he wasn't really, you know, sophisticated in the publishing game,” said Rob.

"The Wisdom of Morrie" examines loneliness. Morrie, a therapist describes it as “an inner ache” when we “are not connected.”  It's something the U.S. Surgeon General recently described as a public health crisis.

“This was one of the focuses of his life,” said Rob. “I think he would be, you know, shocked as to I think there is a mental health crisis in this country. And this is Mental Health Awareness Month. This book fits right into it. It talks a lot about how to maintain a balance. My father talks about the tension of opposites. So, for example, hope and despair or feeling great and feeling terrible, like you're never going to be one way or hopefully the other. You're always going to be somewhere along the continuum. So, he says, you need to recognize that and understand that the two things have to exist together.”

It's these nuggets of wisdom that made Morrie a beloved figure, so much that Rob describes emotional interactions with his admirers.

“I remember one with this athlete, big, tall, strong guy,” explained Rob. “He found out who my father was, and he burst into tears. I have that experience a lot. So, the interest in the goodwill and the love for my father was clearly there. So that's why when I found this manuscript, I thought, wow, we can really do something with this.”