The Five People You Meet in Heaven

The Five People

• The Blue Man• The Captain• Ruby• Marguerite• Tala

The Blue Man

• Side-show character– Skin turned blue from the effects of Silver Nitrate

poisoning.

• How did the Blue Man die?

• Why was Ruby’s Pier the Blue Man’s heaven?

The Blue Man

• Lesson #1– Everyone is connected, all lives are intertwined.• “You can no more separate one life from another than

you can separate a breeze from the wind.”

– There are no random acts.• “Death doesn’t just take someone, it misses someone

else.”

– No life is a waste

The Captain

• Eddie, the other soldiers and The Captain were all prisoners of war in the Philippines together.

• Why did The Captain shoot Eddie in the leg?

The Captain

• Lesson #2– Sacrifice is a part of life. Sacrifice should not be

something we regret, but something we aspire to.• “Sometimes when you sacrifice something precious,

you’re not really losing it. You’re just passing it on to someone else.”

Ruby

• Namesake of Ruby’s Pier

• When Eddie meets Ruby they are in the mountains and there is a diner, what is Ruby’s explanation of the diner and who are the people who have joined her there?

Ruby

• Lesson #3– Forgiveness (helps Eddie gain an understanding of

his father)• “Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We

think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harm we do, we do to ourselves.”

– Ruby’s presence makes Eddie aware of the fact that those who live before us can have a profound affect on one’s life.

Marguerite

• Eddie’s wife– Marguerite died of cancer leaving Eddie widowed.

• The love of Eddie’s life.

Marguerite

• Lesson #4– Love transcends life, continues on after death.• “Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You

hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end, love doesn’t.”

– The death of a loved one does not end the love shared, only changes the form of the love. A loved one will live on in your memory.

Tala

• Who was Tala?

• In the beginning of the book when Eddie is in the accident the last thing he remembers are tiny hands in his. What revelation does Tala make regarding these hands?

Tala

• Lesson #5– All life is connected, Eddie’s life was not ordinary.

His work at Ruby Pier allowed for him to keep children safe by preventing accidents that may have occurred otherwise.• “Children … You keep them safe. You make good for

me.”• Tala tells Eddie that Ruby Pier is where he was meant to

be, that his life was what it was supposed to be.

“Each affects the other and the other effects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one.”