Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies
worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the inspirational stories and themes that weave through his books, plays, and films. Albom lives with his wife Janine Sabino in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
.
Early life
Albom was born on May 23, 1958, to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family in
Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69, ...
. He lived in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
for a little while until his family settled in
Oaklyn, New Jersey, just outside of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. He grew up in a small, middle-class neighborhood which most people never left. Albom was once quoted as saying that his parents were very supportive, and always used to say, "Don't expect your life to finish here. There's a big world out there. Go out and see it." His older sister, younger brother and he himself all took that message to heart and traveled extensively. His siblings are currently settled in Europe.
Columnist
While living in New York, Albom developed an interest in journalism. Still supporting himself by working nights in the music industry, he began to write during the day for the ''
Queens Tribune'', a weekly newspaper in
Flushing, New York
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business d