OPRAH: Why do you think the book continues to resonate?
MITCH: Well, it's a story about a young man who's kind
of lost and an old man who's dying who takes him in and
teaches him a last class on what's important in life.
I think, number one, everybody had a teacher in their
life at some point who's made a difference.
OPRAH: Yeah.
MITCH: Number two, everybody's felt a little lost in
their life. OPRAH: Yeah.
MITCH: And number three, everybody's gonna die.
OPRAH: Yeah. MITCH: And I think those three elements,
now that I've had 20 years to sort of reflect on it,
are probably what makes it universal in why people can
read it in Thailand or Japan or Australia the same way
that they read it here. It wasn't me. It was what Morrie
said and what Morrie did that became embraced.
OPRAH: And I think it's also because you were a student.
You were a student. We've all had that moment where you
really are connected to someone and you said,
I'm gonna stay in touch.
And then life happens and you don’t.
MITCH: Yeah. OPRAH: And had it not been for you seeing
him on — MITCH: Nightline.
OPRAH: -- Nightline with Ted Koppel, you could have been
anyplace else. That's why I believe in, you know, signs,
divine order, providence.
You're flipping through the channel and you see him.
That's your old teacher. MITCH: Yep.
OPRAH: You make a decision to go back and visit him.
MITCH: Well, you've given me too much credit.
I made a decision to make a phone call. He made the
decision to have me come back and see him.
Because when I was in college, I used to call him coach,
you know, a sports affectation. I had forgotten about that.
And when I dialed his number, just to have one phone call
to ease my conscience, the first thing he said to me was,
how come you didn't call me coach?