Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, screenwriter, dramatist, radio and television broadcaster, and musician. His books have sold over 39 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in the earlier part of his career, he is perhaps best known for the inspirational stories and themes that weave through his books, plays, and films. Albom lives with his wife Janine Sabino in Detroit, Michigan.\n', '

Albom was born on May 23, 1958 to a Jewish family in Passaic, New Jersey. Albom lived in Buffalo, New York for a little while until his family settled in Oaklyn, New Jersey, which is close to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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.[citation needed]\n', '\n', '

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. His work there helped earn him entry into the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. During his time there, to help pay his tuition he took work as a babysitter. In addition to nighttime piano playing, Albom took a part-time job with SPORT magazine. Upon graduation, he freelanced in that field for publications such as Sports Illustrated, GEO, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, and covered several Olympic sports events in Europe – including track and field and luge — paying his own way for travel, and selling articles once he was there. In 1983, he was hired as a full-time feature writer for The Fort Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel, and eventually promoted to columnist. In 1985, having won that year’s Associated Press Sports Editors award for best Sports News Story, Albom was hired as lead sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press to replace Mike Downey, a popular columnist who had taken a job with the Los Angeles Times.\n', '

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