In the nonfiction work “Have a Little Faith” (2009), Mitch Albom writes of his friendship with rabbi Albert Lewis and pastor Henry Covington and their exploration of life-and-death questions about God, heaven, faith, and love. At one point, Mr. Albom asks the pastor, “What makes a man happy?”
Ask “What makes you happy?” of Mr. Albom, and you’ll likely get the same answer he gave in a recent interview: “Children. That’s head and shoulders above everything else. When I’m not writing, I’m down in Haiti at the orphanage. Kids being happy make me happy.”
This point was underscored by the giggling, chattering, 19-month-old girl sitting in his lap throughout half of the telephone interview. In the background were the sounds of four children at play in the Albom home, all of them visitors from Haiti, all in the United States for reasons of health or education.
A philanthropist with his money and his time, musician and composer, playwright and screenwriter, former sports broadcaster: Mr. Albom is the sum of many parts. But what has brought him international renown is his books.
