Have a Little Faith: A True Story

Mitch Albom's latest nonfiction book examines faith via the sometimes parallel and sometimes paradoxical lives of two men of God. Rabbi Albert Lewis had lead a life on the straight and narrow and very willing to be of service to others. Henry Covington had been a selfish criminal most of his life until he felt he was being given his last chance by God to get his act together. The author is inserted in their personal lives for different reasons. Albom is asked to complete what seems for him a very intimidating task: eulogizing Lewis, his rabbi. Covington is the pastor of a Christian church that Albom, at first, visits to hopefully make a financial contribution to its homeless shelter.

From start to finish this story moved me. Albom is show more gifted at endearing his subjects to the readers. I found Rabbi Lewis to be a sweet, humorous man so devoted to others and selfless in a way that's rarely seen. Meanwhile, Pastor Covington is close in age to Albom and their backgrounds are sometimes compared. The differences are at once apparent. Albom is from a Jewish middle class family from New Jersey and he went on to college and has had a successful writing career. Covington is Black from a working class family of New York and he turned to a life of crime at an early age then became a minister of a crumbling inner city church in Detroit.

Both Lewis and Covington's journeys are presented in short, effective vignettes. Albom captures the essence of both of these extraordinary men. Albom absolutely leaves the reader questioning what faith means to them and concluding that religion is not the big deciding factor. Faith transcends religion. Have a Little Faith is a great, heartwarming story that everyone can gain something from, no matter what their belief system may be and I think it's a perfect holiday gift. show less

I do not follow a faith. Like many, I find I have too many questions I feel cannot be answered by religion. I simply do not see the point. But this beautifully written 'story of a last request' has certainly made them sit down and think. Not many authors have the ability to do so like Mitch Albom can. I always find myself going back to his books - their themes constantly sit in mind and are referred to. A great book, recommended for anyone - religious or not

I received a copy of this book from the Early Reviewers -- otherwise I don't think I would have bothered to read it. And I'm so thankful to LibraryThing because I loved this book. I went into reading this book kind of knowing I was going to dislike it...that it would be all about Mitch and how great he was. I was so wrong.

This is one of the most tender, beautifully written books I've read in a long time. Mitch takes the reader on a wonderful exploration of faith, community, tradition, and love. And unlike in his other books, he takes himself out of it for the most part -- using himself only for illustrative purposes. By doing this the reader is able to appreciate the journeys of Henry and Reb, as well as their own individual show more journey.

This book made me want to know these men, and made me commit to finding my own Man of God. This book would be great for anyone, maybe older than junior high. It would be a perfect Confirmation/Bar and Bat Mitzvah gift. show less

I didn't deliberately plan that 2 out of my last 3 books read would be Mitch Albom books. The first one fell into my hands at the library - this second one cried out to me from the shelf of a pop-up charity shop I wandered into during my lunch hour at work. I felt like maybe it was a bit of divine providence, that this book was going to be something inspiring, dare I say it potentially life changing.

This book is Albom's true account of how, after many decades of drifting away from church and God, he is asked by his old Rabbi to give his eulogy when he dies. Feeling that he cannot say anything other than yes (but being decidedly uncomfortable with the request), he asks to spend some time with the Rabbi so that he can get to know a show more little more about his life in preparation for writing the eulogy one day. This evolves into 8 years of friendship and great learning from an amazing person, and results in a regeneration of Albom's faith in people and religion.

In parallel, Albom also meets an ex-prisoner ex-drug addict ex-dealer, who one day hit the bottom of the barrel of life and decided to give his life to God. Despite making six figure sums with his drug dealing, he turned his back on his life of crime and embraced a life of poverty serving God instead, dedicating himself to a crumbling church made up of a small congregation of homeless people, addicts, and those who had generally run out of second chances.

As with [For One More Day], this was a book written in Albom's trademark easy-to-read style that pulls you in from the off. No matter how tired or jaded you're feeling, these are thought-provoking books that can be zipped through without taxing your grey matter too much.

HOWEVER.... somehow I expected more from this book. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I really thought Albom's journey might help plug some of the gaps in my own faith. It didn't. I know what he was trying hard to achieve, but somehow - despite the heart-warming stories of human goodness and absolute devotion to God - there was something missing. He didn't manage to provide any new insights into faith - he just recounted a couple of nice stories about two beautiful people.

3.5 stars - an enjoyable read, but.... not "enough". show less

I like this a lot, A LOT more than I thought I would. It's quick read that brought me to tears at the end. I may not have a set religion, but I do have people in my life that make me believe in a higher power. Recommended!

Mitch Albom became famous for "Tuesdays with Morrie," in which he recounted the weekly conversations he had with a favorite college professor after reconnecting with him during the final months of his life. That book, which showed the irrepressible spirit of a man openly facing his mortality, was a huge best-seller and was made into a television movie starring Jack Lemmon.

After a couple of works of fiction, Albom has written another non-fiction book, this time on modern religion, based on his personal interactions with his childhood rabbi and the Christian pastor of a small inner-city Detroit church. "Have a Little Faith" demonstrates Albom's empathetic ear as he searches for the center of religious experience in two men who seem to show more have nothing in common. Albert Lewis is a white Jewish rabbi, theologically-trained, comfortably middle-class; Henry Covington is an African-American pastor of a struggling homeless ministry, a former drug addict and an ex-con.

The impetus of the story is rooted in a request that Albom receives from Rabbi Lewis, affectionately known as "The Reb," in the aftermath of the publication of "Tuesdays with Morrie." The aging rabbi asks Albom to give the eulogy at his funeral. Taken aback, Albom agrees, on the condition that he can meet with Lewis to learn about him personally. This leads to eight years of visits and phone calls.

During the same period of time, Albom's interest in supporting homeless shelters in Detroit leads him to the large, but crumbling, church that houses Covington's I Am My Brother's Keeper Ministry. At first, Albom comes to see if the homeless shelter deserves his financial support. After learning the stories of many of the people who eat, sleep, and/or worship in the building with a large hole in the roof, he is intrigued enough to write newspaper columns and work to support the ministry of a former drug dealer, thief, and perhaps worse.

The serendipity of the book's title is its multivalent meaning. It could be the thread that ties Lewis' and Covington's experiences together. It could be a call for tolerance directed to the reader, that they believe in these characters whose experiences are probably difficult to comprehend or condone. It could be directed at Albom himself, detailing his own subtle faith journey over these eight years.

Happily, Albom does not succumb to banalities or empty platitudes. He seems satisfied in the glimpses of faith he reveals in conversation and observation. Perhaps he recognizes, if only subconsciously, that capturing faith in words is as impossible as fully presenting a person's life in a eulogy. Instead, he offers more questions than answers, his own generous spirit, and a model of someone whose toleration stems from openness to other people, to wisdom, maybe even to God.

Per usual, the book is a well-written page turner that can be finished in one sitting if time allows. The chapters are short, sometimes only a couple of pages, moving back and forth from focusing on the rabbi to the Christian minister. At times sad, even tragic, the book is also inspirational, offering hope for the comforts of faith in the modern technology-driven, market-driven world. show less

In this non-fiction, a combination of memoir and biography, the author chronicles portions of the lives of two very different men: one is his family’s rabbi and the other an African American Christian pastor. Rabbi Albert Lewis has asked Albom to write and deliver his eulogy when the time comes. Pastor Henry Covington, after a former life of drugs, crime, and prison, has given his life to Jesus and runs a dilapidated mission in an inner-city section of Detroit. These two intertwined stories inform the author’s own journey to rediscover the faith of his youth.

This book is written in a simple style and it is a quick read. The telling of the two stories feels a bit disjointed. The first relates Albom’s regular visits with “the show more Reb” to get to know him better so he can adequately portray his life. The second recounts Albom’s interactions with Pastor Covington and the people that attend his Christian homeless shelter, leading him to become what the pastor calls “the first Jewish member of the congregation.” I felt more engaged in the first story than the second, probably due to the author’s long-term connection with the rabbi. Much of the book is oriented toward the philosophies of the two men, but nothing is probed in any depth.

This book does not overwhelm the reader with religious dogma. With very few exceptions, conclusions are left up to the reader. At times it drifts close to saccharine, but it seems to come from a well-intentioned point of view. Themes include the importance of nurturing a spirit of community, the similarities among people of faith regardless of religion, the search to find meaning in life, and the desire to engender more kindness in the world. Recommended to anyone that occasionally likes to ponder spiritual questions. show less