The First Phone Call From Heaven

The Week It Happened...

On the day the world received its first phone call from heaven, Tess Rafferty was unwrapping a box of tea bags.

Drrrnnn!

She ignored the ring and dug her nails into the plastic.

Drrrnnn!

She clawed her forefinger through the bumpy part on the side.

Drrrnnn!

Finally, she made a rip, then peeled off the wrapping and scrunched it in her palm. She knew the phone would go the answering machine if she didn't grab it before one more -

Drrrnnn -

"Hello?"

Too late.

"Ach, this thing," she mumbled. She heard the machine click on her kitchen counter as it played her outgoing message.

"Hi, it's Tess. Leave your name and number. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, thanks."

A small beep sounded. Tess heard static. And then.

"It's Mom...I need to tell you something."

Tess stopped breathing. The receiver fell from her fingers.

Her mother died four years ago.

In the latest novel from best selling author Mitch Albom, The First Phone Call From Heaven, he was more has created a longing in the heart for so many who wish for just one more phone call or a way to talk to those who have died. Only it isn't just Tess who is getting the phone calls, it is others in the small town of Coldwater, Michigan. Those once lost in their grief are finding comfort in the short simple phone calls conveying that everything is perfect and that those loved ones are calling from heaven and they want everyone to know about it.

Amy Penn was hoping to finally get the one big break all reporters long for and when she gets the assignment to investigate the phone calls from dead people coming to those residents only in the town of Coldwater, Amy wonders if she is being sent on a wild goose chase because if she fails, the station doesn't have to worry about what the ratings will do. No one knows who she is anyway. But will Amy find more than she truly ever bargained for? Is this God's way of leading her down a much different path then she ever dreamed possible?

You'll have to pick up this book to find out. If you've read Mitch Albom's other books, The Five People You Meet in Heaven or Tuesdays With Morrie, then you will definitely WANT this one. It's guaranteed to keep you wondering long after you finish the final page. In my opinion, this one hands down gets a 5 out of 5 stars. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. This was a self purchase and being a huge book lover, I had to read this one. What a great Christmas gift!

For more information about The First Phone Call From Heaven, Mitch Albom or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom

You can find Mitch Albom on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

The Time Keeper

"A man sits alone in a cave. 

His hair is long. His beard reaches his knees. He holds his chin in the cup of his hands. He closes his eyes. He is listening to something. Voices. Endless voices. They rise from a pool in the corner of the cave. They are the voices of people on Earth. They want one thing only. Time.

Sarah Lemon is one of those voices. 

A teenager in our day, she sprawls on a bed and studies a photo on her cell phone: a good-looking boy with coffee-colored hair. Tonight she will see him. Tonight at eight-thirty. She recites it excitedly - Eight-thirty, eight-thirty! - and she wonders what to wear. The black jeans? The sleeveless top? No. She hates her arms. Not the sleeveless. "I need more time," she says.

Victor Delamonte is one of those voices. 

A wealthy man in his mid-eighties, he sits in a doctor's office. His wife sits beside him. White paper covers an exam table. The doctor speaks softly. "There's not much we can do," he says. Months of treatment have worked. The tumors. The kidneys. Victor's wife tries to speak, but the words catch. As if sharing the same larynx, Victor clears his throat. "What Grace wants to ask is....how much time do I have left?"

His words - and Sarah's words - drift up to the faraway cave, and the lonesome, bearded man sitting inside it. This man is Father Time. 

You might think him a myth, a cartoon from a New Year's card - ancient, haggard, clutching an hourglass, older than anyone on the planet. But Father Time is real. And, in truth, he cannot age. Beneath the unruly beard and cascading hair - signs of life, not death - his body is lean, his skin unwrinkled, immune to the very thing he lords over. Once, before he angered God, he was just another man, fated to die when his days were done. Now he has a different fate: Banished to this cave, he must listen to the world's every plea - for more minutes, more hours, more years, more time.

He has been here an eternity. He has given up hope. But a clock ticks for all of us, silently, somewhere. And one is ticking even for him. Soon Father Time will be free. To return to Earth. And finish what he started." (pg 3-4).

In The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom, we are immersed in the lives of two people who one man has been asked to intervene and help in their quest for more time in very different aspects of their lives. It takes the reader into their own personal question of what are they doing with time, are they wasting it, do they value it the way they should, and how can they begin to change their seconds and minutes moving forward. There are truly so many things to take away from this book in retrospective and great quotes worth keeping. I know for me, I'll be taking this one out time and time again to make sure I am living my life as it should be, a gift, that's why it's called the present. I would easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and makes the perfect gift for those that wish things were different or as an inspiration to make their lives truly better beginning today!

For more information on The Time Keeper, Mitch Albom, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom 

You can also find Mitch Albom on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest books!!!

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; BOOK CLUB edition (September 4, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401322786
• ISBN-13: 978-1401322786
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.8 x 1 inches