Memento Morrie: Images of Love and Loss
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Daylight Books (July 2024)
In 1995, photographer Heather Pillar collaborated with Morrie Schwartz during the last six months of Morrie's struggle with ALS. The project illustrated Morrie's philosophies through photographs made of family, friends, caregivers, reaching out to community and self-care.
Over a quarter-century later, Morrie's wisdom resonates with many people around the world due to the best-selling memoir to date: Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom.
Morrie's warmth and vitality comes through in each photograph to illustrate love and loss; caregiving and self-care; family, friends and always community.
Morrie taught people, including Heather - how to live fulfilling lives with love. It is by facing fears of death that we learn how to live.
December 18, 2024
Memento Morrie Book Review by W.Scott Olsen
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If photographs are intimations of human emotion, then these images pack tremendous volume. It’s been 28 years since Tuesdays with Morrie, yet that book lingers in the cultural capital of this planet. Disease notwithstanding, if it is possible to aspire to a type of death, here is our example. To bring this photobook out now is a wonderful reaffirmation of the lessons Morrie Schwartz taught us, seen through the eye of a talented and insightful photographer.
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'Focusing on the joys of family and friendship - the indefatigable prophet of optimism and joy, Morrie! Thank you, Heather. Through your work of love we are all reminded of how much there is in life for which we must be grateful.' ​
Ted Koppel
CBS Sunday Morning Special Contributor
and Former Anchor of Nightline
Tuesday People podcast
August 20, 2024
The Joy of Discovering a New/Old Memory
Heather Pillar, who is a wonderful photographer, happened to be photographing Morrie during his time with ALS, and she made a study of him, and ended up with some really beautiful pictures. She sent her book, ‘Memento Morrie: Images of Love and Loss’ to me as a gift, and I started leafing through it. I had a feeling - I'm talking about finding a new ‘memento,’ long after someone has gone. There is a particular rush, a joy, that you cannot compare to anything else in life.
It is like being given a little moment back with the person that you lost after you have resolved that you will never have another moment with them again.
It doesn't change the dynamic- Morrie is still gone - but it rekindled the sense of being connected to him for real.
And there's so much to be learned from that moment. There's so much to be learned from the emotion that I had when I saw these photos. It brought back the feeling of Morrie all over again, because it's something new.
It's different from me picking up a copy of Tuesdays With Morrie. It's different from me looking at the photos that I have of me and Morrie.
One of Morrie’s aphorisms is: ‘Death ends a life but not a relationship’ But you have to invest in that relationship while you're here if you want it to go on. Create memories and mementos with your loved ones so that you can enjoy them now and later on.
I hope that when a memento comes into your life, you feel the joy and connection to your loved ones. Like this book came into my life by Heather Pillar, Memento Morrie, which is beautiful. And a surprise that gave me that little rush of like, here's a little peek under the curtain again with Morrie, and isn't it great?
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Mitch Albom
author of the bestselling memoir, Tuesdays with Morrie
August 20, 2024
