Eddie a maintenance engineer at a seaside resort dies trying to save a girl from a disembarked ride. He goes to heaven and meets five people at all different stages who tell him the meaning of his life and the answers he was looking for. he meets people who have shaped his life and each of them has something to teach him and in the end he realizes the meaning of his life the purpose. The whole story deals with experience of after life it defines what heaven means to each of us . and very subtly it gives the message that heaven is the place we choose to be happy Eddie was never happy at the seaside pier but by meeting these people he came to recognize that this was where he was meant to be , he was chosen by god to be there it was his destiny . and his heaven was the seaside resort because that was where he fulfilled his destiny.
The book has made me a believer in the concepts of fate and destiny because there are a few things in this world which cannot be defined which all of a sudden out of nowhere change the direction of our lives.

This book tells us that each of us is a part of a bigger picture and whether we realise or not our smallest activity actually affects a lot of people . on a more poignant note it also tells us that as a individual we all can make a difference however small and yet live a life which at a cursory glance means nothing but then even a smallest cog is needed to make the wheels turn .
The book made me realise that I should be happy with what I am , Eddie was not he was never at peace with himself it was only when he met the last of the five people he realised that he was what he was meant to be. Not all of us can presidents and other important people but people who do every day job are important too.
This book has made me remember the lines which I have always sought but never got
it goes something like this "no choice is wrong in the gods eye because this was what meant to happen" ah well it I have not got it right but it was something like this . It had something to do with Rahim or Kabir finding his guru
well I diverted from the topic
The end of the book is spectacular because Eddie after getting his five lessons returns to the resort and then he feels like he has come HOME.