The Stranger in the Lifeboat

Mitch Albom

Nov 2021 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

#1 New York Times Bestseller

What would happen if we called on God for help and God actually appeared? In Mitch Albom’s profound new novel of hope and faith, a group of shipwrecked passengers pull a strange man from the sea. He claims to be “the Lord.” And he says he can only save them if they all believe in him.

Adrift in a raft after a deadly ship explosion, ten people struggle for survival at sea. Three days pass. Short on water, food and hope, they spot a man floating in the waves. They pull him in.

“Thank the Lord we found you,” a passenger says.

“I am the Lord,” the man whispers.

So begins Mitch Albom’s most beguiling novel yet.

Albom has written of heaven in the celebrated number one bestsellers The Five People You Meet in Heaven and The First Phone Call from Heaven. Now, for the first time in his fiction, he ponders what we would do if, after crying out for divine help, God actually appeared before us?

In The Stranger in the Lifeboat, Albom keeps us guessing until the end: Is this strange man really who he claims to be? What actually happened to cause the explosion? Are the survivors in heaven, or are they in hell? The story is narrated by Benji, one of the passengers, who recounts the events in a notebook that is discovered—a year later—when the empty life raft washes up on the island of Montserrat. It falls to the island’s chief inspector, Jarty LeFleur, a man battling his own demons, to solve the mystery of what really happened. 

A fast-paced, compelling novel that makes you ponder your deepest beliefs, The Stranger in the Lifeboat suggests that answers to our prayers may be found where we least expect them.

Ratings and reviews

I'm a person of spirit, not religion, this book hits that balance of speaking of what 1 believes but allowing you to make what you want from the experience. I haven't read a book cover to cover since High School (a long, long time ago, I have a high school senior 😳) this was the first book I have read for "fun" and understanding. one that wasn't a comic book or graphic novel and I absolutely LOVED IT. I honestly can't accurately describe how much reading this book has meant to me, with the limited space, but can we get a movie, too? so I can say "The book is better" once in my life. and Mitch, please tell your friend Tony, I'm about a year behind on the pod, I'm trying to catch up, but it's a losing battle because his show stinks 😆. I heard the episode in which you mentioned this book the day my aunt passed away. That episode, just like this book helped me find peace, doesn't make the tears stop, but there's peace. All I can say is, "Hey Elvis! You wrote a great book"

Perspective changing and insightful. I loved reading this book. Thank you Mitch

amazing story beautifully written. thank you.

About the author

Mitch Albom is the author of numerous books of fiction and nonfiction, which have collectively sold more than forty million copies in forty-seven languages worldwide. He has written seven number-one New York Times bestsellers – including Tuesdays with Morrie, the bestselling memoir of all time, which topped the list for four straight years – award-winning TV films, stage plays, screenplays, a nationally syndicated newspaper column, and a musical. Through his work at the Detroit Free Press, he was inducted into both the National Sports Media Association and Michigan Sports halls of fame and is the recipient of the 2010 Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement. After bestselling memoir Finding Chika and “Human Touch,” the weekly serial written and published online in real-time to raise funds for pandemic relief, his latest work is a return to fiction with The Stranger in the Lifeboat (Harper, November 2021). He founded and oversees SAY Detroit, a consortium of nine different charitable operations in his hometown, including a nonprofit dessert shop and food product line to fund programs for Detroit’s most underserved citizens. He also operates an orphanage in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan. Learn more at www.mitchalbom.com, www.saydetroit.org, and www.havefaithaiti.org.