The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

Spirituality is a central motif in the novel, as Albom’s work is heavily inspired by religious ideas, especially those related to Christianity. The novel uses elements of Christian ideas of life and death, such as referring to the afterlife as “heaven” and occasionally referencing the Christian God. Heaven is portrayed as a unique version of the Christian heaven: it includes the intentions of God as part of its purpose, but also allows each character to create their own heaven, implying that each person’s idea of a happy afterlife is different though they are all interconnected. Sameer’s heaven, for instance, allows him to relive the joy and excitement of his childhood, as he envisions himself as a young boy controlling a train. Cleo’s heaven is filled with dogs returning home to their owners, as she deeply values the bond between human and pet. In several instances, Annie has conversations with people in heaven that allude to a spiritual sense of life: “Don’t divine things happen every day?” (92). Annie also prays to God to save Paulo’s life, and she names her daughter “Giovanna, an Italian name for ‘gift from God’” (209).

Words such as “eternity,” “firmament,” and “salvation” are used frequently: “That’s how salvation works. The wrongs we do open doors to do right” (181). This aligns with the Christian idea that God provides salvation to humans, particularly through the clarity of a large, grand plan for all of humanity that individuals often cannot comprehend before death. Albom draws on the idea that there is a purpose behind all things, including suffering. He also presents Death as a Part of the Life Cycle, emphasizing that existence continues after life on Earth ends and even suggesting that the dead can, on occasion, appear to the living when their time is near. Albom hints at the concept of karma through Eddie’s story of sacrifice and Annie’s story of a second chance.

In terms of literary technique, Albom adds to the vivid imagery of the novel through references to spirituality, such as when Annie goes over the waterfall and the sheer volume of the sound overpowers her: “[I]t was as if God’s own voice were howling” (152). This evokes a loud, awe-inspiring sound that is almost beyond human comprehension.

Color is both a motif and a symbol in the novel. Color illustrates mood, provides the imagery to many settings, and advances the plot. In heaven, colors change to reflect Annie’s mood, memories, and the changes she is experiencing in death: “The sky above her shifted again, from mustard to plum to forest green. These colors, and all the firmament’s colors since her arrival, reflected the emotions of her life on Earth, replaying as that life was replayed” (71). Annie enters heaven to a blue sea and begins to swim against the tide of her memories. She is desperate to resist whatever is coming. This contrasts with her meeting with her mother, after which she embraces the current.

The colors of the firmament also respond to the person to whom each heaven belongs. Sameer’s heaven is full of green, luscious landscapes and silver cities, and Lorraine’s heaven is a constantly evolving array of “swirling shades of scarlet and rose” that represent her love for Annie (97). These shades of red begin to dull when she reveals her guilt over leaving Annie at Ruby Pier. In the final eternity, the firmament is a pure black, representing Annie’s inevitable feelings of loss and mourning for her husband, Paulo.

Isolation is a motif that is woven throughout Annie’s experiences in life and death. It is positioned to support the theme of Interwoven Human Connections, as Annie goes from looking at her lonely life as one filled with mistakes and regret to understanding that all people always have been, and will always be, connected to each other.

When Annie is a child, she feels isolated from her parents, who spend more time arguing than paying attention to her. After Annie’s parents’ divorce, Lorraine moves herself and Annie to Arizona, where they leave behind most of their family, their names, and their lives. Arizona is a desert state, which evokes barren, empty imagery that is reflected in Annie’s isolated upbringing. As Annie meets her five people in heaven, she is flooded with memories of her lonely past, including having few friends at school, not being allowed to socialize, living in the middle of nowhere with Walt, and keeping the death of her son a secret. Annie experiences an isolated desert in death as well, representing these memories and emotions.

In the afterlife, Annie finally breaks through the isolation that she felt defined her life. She realizes the extent to which she has affected, and been affected by, many other people. She symbolically demonstrates a willingness to push past her loneliness by running after the wild dogs in the desert, which brings her to Cleo, who teaches her the purpose of her feelings of solitude and helps her realize she was never truly alone.