The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Tala helps to introduce the theme of reconciliation. The narrative of The Five People You Meet in Heaven is episodic, weaving through time and space. However, Eddie is the center, he is the post around which Albom ties all of these disparate threads. Specifically, each one of the episodes from Eddie's earthly life reveals some piece of "unfinished business" that Eddie needs to reconcile before he moves on. He finds out that he was responsible for the Blue Man's death; the Blue Man helps to shape Eddie's limited view of justice. Then, Eddie meets his Captain and finds out that the Captain was the one who shot Eddie in the leg. Because of the Captain's lesson on sacrifice, Eddie can finally let go of the bitterness he felt about the injury that plagued him for years. When Eddie learns the truth behind his father's death, he is finally able to forgive the old man and let go of his resentment. He has the chance to tell Marguerite all of the words he could not say before her death, releasing his regret. Finally, Eddie is able to wash the burns off Tala, the young girl who died in the fire in the Philippines. This is the last of his nightmares, and once Eddie is able to wrap up all of these loose ends, so to speak, his soul is clean and ready for the next phase of its journey.