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Home  / News & Publications /  Michigan Catholic News / 2009 /  Albom's 'Have a Little Faith' an invitation to life of faith

Reviewed by Marylynn G. Hewitt, SFO of The Michigan Catholic
Published September 25, 2009

"Have a Little Faith" Author: Mitch Albom Publisher: Hyperion Release date: Sept. 29 Pages: 272 Price: $23.99 Visit: mitchalbom.com

Detroit - Mitch Albom's "Have a Little Faith" is the story of the faith life of three men. Two of them have it - one of them cautiously circles it.

One is Albom's aging boyhood rabbi, Albert Lewis, who has asked the Detroit Free Press columnist and radio host if he'd be willing to deliver his eulogy when the time comes. It's been years since Albom was part of the ebb and flow of a synagogue but the request prompts Albom to get reacquainted with the only rabbi he's ever had.

The second is Henry Covington, pastor of the I Am My Brother's Keeper Church on Trumbull in Detroit. The lives of those in Covington's congregation include the homeless and the addicted in need of repair, as does their church building where a tarp covers the gaping hole in the ceiling and the heat of 80 people sleeping at night does little to raise the frigid temperature.

The third man is Albom, schooled in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) as a lad and bar mitzvahed. And then he walked away.

Albom

He's intrigued by the conviction of ex-con Covington's faith and inspired by the faith of Lewis who built a congregation from a small group who used to meet in a former house. Of the latter, in much the way he did with "Tuesdays with Morrie," he learns at the feet of someone who dangles the keys to such treasure in front of him. In this case, he is intrigued but doesn't reach out and grab them.

Covington's hard-scrabble life, much as a result of his own doing - the dabbling in drug sales and use, guns and his foray into the underbelly of society - is a life turned around. It takes a while, and discussions with a few members of the congregation, for Albom to be assured of the pastor's sincerity.

Each man's story could well stand on its own, but in the telling of Lewis' alone, the reader may feel he or she is sharing another "Morrie" moment. For Covington, however, there's much more that could have been explored. For aren't all of us who wrestle with our faith certain of times we've gotten it wrong, sought forgiveness and only in God's mercy been put back on path?

Albom writes that "Have a Little Faith" pairs the two "in the hopes that all faiths can find something universal in the story." Hmmm. It seems to me that the stories these men tell is more of an invitation to have a life of faith.

There's one point, where after visiting with Covington on a bitter winter night, Albom writes he realized something as he drove home that night: that he is neither better nor smarter, only maybe luckier. Luckier? As a reader, I wanted to shout at him, "You might have more stuff, know more household names and have traveled the world, but in the end, it has nothing to do with luck or being on a first-name basis with every sports hero. Listen to these men. Learn from them. It's about a relationship with God!" But I didn't; I doubt he would hear me.

There's something about being a professional spectator for a living, but never being the one swinging the bat, shooting the free shot or dashing into the end zone. Life may seem safer that way, but it's doubtful either of these men would trade places with Albom for very long.

Maybe that's where this story will resonate with readers. And maybe someday, though he's well on the journey, it will resonate with Albom as well.