The First Phone Call from Heaven

by Mitch Albom

Overview

One morning in the small town of Coldwater, Michigan, the phones start ringing. The voices say they are calling from heaven. Each call is greeted differently—some with love, some with religious zeal, some with fear. The question of whether these calls are a miracle or a hoax drives Sully Harding, a grieving single father with an inquisitive and hopeful son, to uncover the truth. A page-turning mystery and a meditation on the power of connecting with a loved one you cannot see, this latest novel is a virtuosic feat of history, love, and redemption.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062305770
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/12/2013
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	431,934
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mitch Albom is the author of numerous books of fiction and nonfiction, which have collectively sold more than forty million copies in forty-seven languages worldwide. He has written seven number-one New York Times bestsellers – including Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time, which topped the list for four straight years – award-winning TV films, stage plays, screenplays, a nationally syndicated newspaper column, and a musical. Through his work at the Detroit Free Press, he was inducted into both the National Sports Media Association and Michigan Sports halls of fame and is the recipient of the 2010 Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement. After bestselling memoir Finding Chika and “Human Touch,” the weekly serial written and published online in real-time to raise funds for pandemic relief, his latest work is a return to fiction with The Stranger in the Lifeboat (Harper, November 2021). He founded and oversees SAY Detroit, a consortium of nine different charitable operations in his hometown, including a nonprofit dessert shop and food product line to fund programs for Detroit’s most underserved citizens. He also operates an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. Learn more at www.mitchalbom.com, www.saydetroit.org, and www.havefaithaiti.org.

Hometown:

Franklin, Michigan

Date of Birth:

May 23, 1958

Place of Birth:

Passaic, New Jersey

Education:

B.A., Brandeis University, 1979; M.J., Columbia University, 1981; M.B.A., Columbia University, 1982

Editorial Reviews

A beautifully rendered tale of faith and redemption that makes us think, feel, and hope—and then doubt and then believe, as only Mitch Albom can make us do.

Garth Stein

Beautiful and smart. Perhaps the most stirring and transcendent heaven story since Field of Dreams.

Matthew Quick

Albom has a nose for ‘thin places’: places where the boundary between secular and sacred is porous, and ultimate meaning is easier to encounter… This brisk, page-turner of a story [is] another winner from Albom.” — Publishers Weekly

“A beautifully rendered tale of faith and redemption that makes us think, feel, and hope—and then doubt and then believe, as only Mitch Albom can make us do.” — Garth Stein, New York Times bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain

“Beautiful and smart. Perhaps the most stirring and transcendent heaven story since Field of Dreams.” — Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and The Good Luck of Right Now

From the Publisher

In Mitch Albom’s latest audiobook, residents in a small town start receiving unexplained phone calls from deceased relatives. The communications inspire Sully Harding to investigate for answers. The author narrates the ensuing confusion and controversy, as well as the varying viewpoints of those who believe in the messages from the dead and those who don’t. Albom portrays each individual’s reaction with genuine compassion. Amid the excitement and bewilderment, he’s still able to keep Harding’s voice familiar and deferential. Albom uses a soothing, quiet voice—fitting and purposeful—for each phone call from the unknown. Sound effects such as a phone ringing, a doorbell, and a sudden knocking sound are all effective in achieving such a thought-provoking and inspiring story. D.Z. 2015 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2013 - AudioFile