The Next Person You Meet in Heaven

Annie is the protagonist of The Next Person You Meet in Heaven. She is a dynamic character: a complex person who changes and grows as the story progresses. Annie was held back by the physical trauma she experienced at age eight at Ruby Pier, as well as by her mother, Lorraine, and by Annie’s own negative self-perception. The novel is peppered with chapters entitled “Annie Makes a Mistake” (139) because that is what Annie initially views her life as a “mistake.” She blames herself for a multitude of events that she was not directly responsible for, such as her parents’ divorce and the deaths of her husband, Paulo, and the maintenance worker who saved her at Ruby Pier, Eddie. Annie views herself as weak and somewhat insignificant. It takes the journey through the afterlife—meeting her five people—for her to recognize her own strengths: courage, such as when she moved on after the death of her baby; empathy, which drove her to adopt the injured Cleo and to become a nurse; and a willingness to sacrifice herself, shown when she donates her lung to try and save Paulo’s life.

When Annie goes to heaven, she meets five people that help her see