Healing the Wounds of Regret: A Psychological Study of Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven

Mr. J. Robin Deepak¹, Dr. S. Samuel Jude Frank²

¹Ph.D. Scholar (20221274011013) and Assistant Professor, P G and Research Department of English, St. John’s College, Palayamkottai, Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,Tirunelveli. robindeepak.j@gmail.com

²Assistant Professor, P G and Research Department of English, St. John’s College, Palayamkottai, Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,Tirunelveli. jude.frank92@gmail.com

Abstract

Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven explores the human condition through the intertwined themes of regret, redemption, and psychological healing. This paper, titled “Healing the Wounds of Regret: A Psychological Study of Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” examines the protagonist Eddie’s posthumous journey as a metaphor for the therapeutic process of confronting guilt and finding meaning in suffering. Drawing from psychoanalytic and existential frameworks, particularly Freud’s theory of repression, Erik Erikson’s psycho-social development, and Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, the study interprets Eddie’s encounters with the five heavenly figures as sequential stages of emotional catharsis and self-actualization. Each encounter unveils repressed emotions of guilt, anger, and loss, transforming them into understanding, forgiveness, and acceptance. This research argues that Albom redefines heaven not as a theological destination, but as a psychological space where emotional wounds are reconciled through love and awareness. This paper concludes that healing from regret is achieved through the reintegration of fragmented experiences into a meaningful whole, revealing Albom’s broader humanistic message that every life, no matter how ordinary, contributes to the greater harmony of existence.

Keywords: Mitch Albom, Regret, Healing, Psychoanalysis, Existential psychology, Forgiveness.