He calls this first chapter, The End, to emphasize that although it is the end of Eddie's life, it is the beginning of the journey on which he will embark, in heaven, to find meaning and significance in himself and his life; ironically, The End, is also the beginning of the novel.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven Summary. The novel begins with a countdown to the death of Eddie, a crippled, elderly man who works in maintenance at Ruby Pier, a seaside amusement park. Eddie has always wanted to leave Ruby Pier to make a life for himself elsewhere, but has never been able to.
However, the girl reassures Eddie that his life was meaningful because his purpose was to protect children at the amusement park, and in the end, he died saving a little girl. The story ends with Eddie joining his wife in their version of heaven, revealing that all endings are simply just new beginnings.
The last person she met in heaven was her husband, Paolo. Annie realized that he died before she could save him. She woke up from the hospital, knowing that her husband died. Although the ending is a sad one, it replaces it with a happy one as she had a daughter named Giovanna.
Rising Action
Eddie finds himself in Heaven, and he must learn several important lessons before he can move on to the next step. From the Blue Man, he discovers that all stories are connected. From his Captain, he learns the importance of sacrifice. From Ruby, he learns to forgive his father.
Falling action is everything that takes place immediately after the climax. The purpose of falling action is to bring the story from climax to a resolution. It is one of the key elements in any story which will usually include an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and denouement.
Poignant and beautiful, filled with unexpected twists, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven reminds us that not only does every life matter, but that every ending is also a beginning—we only need to open our eyes to see it.
In heaven, Ruby tells Eddie the true story of how his father died saving Mickey, and teaches him the lesson of forgiveness.
The Captain confesses that he shot Eddie in the leg to prevent Eddie from chasing the shadow into the fire. This saved Eddie's life despite leaving him with a lifelong severe limp. Eddie then learns how the Captain died: he stepped on a land mine that would have killed all the men had he not set it off.
Christians who know and love each other on earth will know and love each other in heaven.
After years of traveling, he settled permanently at Ruby Pier, where he found community and a sense of home. He died from a heart attack, caused by the shock from a young Eddie running into the street after a lost ball on his birthday. The Blue Man teaches Eddie that all lives are connected, even strangers.
Eddie's First Lesson
This is the first of The Five People You Meet in Heaven lessons. The Blue Man smiles and reassures him that he is only here to learn. He says that all five people that Eddie will come across in heaven have one lesson to teach him: that all lives are connected and nothing is completely random.
Throughout the novel, the ocean represents both destruction and new beginnings. Powerfully beautiful and yet dangerous, it is a constant at Ruby Pier.
Eddie saves the little girl - We find out at the end of the novel that Eddie did save the little girl from the falling amusement cart. It is important to note the symbolism of this child's rescue.
Ruby Pier is the amusement park on the ocean where Eddie works in maintenance for most of his life. A place of both great celebration and great pain for Eddie and others, the park represents the variety of experience in Eddie's life.
The scene was gut-wrenching enough and fans cannot forget it, whether they want to or not. The kicker of it all? Eddie's final words to Dustin: "I love you, man." If those words weren't already bringing on the waterworks, Dustin tearfully replies "I love you, too." And then Eddie is gone.
He says that sacrifice is a part of life that we are meant to be proud of. He asks for Eddie's forgiveness for shooting him in the leg. Realizing that the Captain sacrificed his own life to save Eddie's, Eddie shakes the Captain's hand.
Eddie, played by Joseph Quinn, sacrificed himself to save Hawkins – but the brutal irony of his sacrifice was that the residents of Hawkins believed him to be a murderer, and made his life a nightmare in the run-up to his death.
The final and most powerful lesson in the book comes from a little girl named Tala. Tala was a small girl hiding inside a barn which Eddie burned down while he was in the war. Tala's message is the most powerful in the book. Her lesson is that regardless of a person's actions, all lives have purpose.
Eddie's father dies from pneumonia, which he caught while saving his friend Mickey Shea during an ocean storm. He represents extreme male aggression and toughness.
Eddie and Marguerite got married but never had children. Eddie's stubbornness ruined their chances at adoption - Marguerite got in a car accident while driving to reconcile with him after a fight, and the subsequent medical costs meant that they could no longer afford to adopt a child.
Cleo helped to teach Annie about loneliness and how she was able to have a home because of her. Neglectful to Annie growing up. In heaven Lorraine can finally express all her feelings, same with Annie. She said she was there to teach Annie grace and forgiveness.
Then Annie notices an old man before her, dressed in a brown uniform and linen cap. This is Eddie, the man who saved her life so many years before and lost his by doing so.
Eddie told Annie that saving her was his salvation, his atonement for killing Tala, and that she needed to forgive herself for her mistakes. Before parting, Eddie handed her Laurence, her child, and Annie was able to hold him and feel for a moment before he vanishes as well.