Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Once again, Albom delivers a story that is hard to walk away from once you begin. He set the bar high with Tuesdays with Morrie, and if you were a fan of that one you'll enjoy this one, too!

Amzing! I couldn't put it down! 10 peole are trapped on a life boat, snf they find someone in the water on the third day. The man is pulled into the boat, and the man announces that he is the Lord.

Mitch always writes well and sometimes he writes the book that takes you outside of yourself and into absolute growth. I can call him Mitch because anyone that writes something this beautiful should be considered a close friend. A lifeboat washes on the shore and a heartbroken detective tries diligently to piece it together. It's obviously part of the yacht disappearance of a year ago, no survivors. Mitch weaves his tapestry in a way that will break your heart and give you the answer to life.

Mitch Albom writes a story of faith and forgiveness. Heavy of Christian values most people will like this book. Benji is the narrator of the story set in a lifeboat after a ship explodes. When the people on board pull someone from the water he claims to be the Lord. Someone on the boat prayed for help and this time their prayer was answered. Several twists and turns keep the story interesting. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

religious read about a luxury yacht that goes down in the middle of the ocean. A handful of people make it onto a raft; one claiming to be The Lord. He tells them if they believe, they will be saved. Only one survives.

I haven’t read a Mitch Albom book in quite a while and don’t know why I stopped! His books are always very good and this was no exception. It kept my interest from the start all the way until the end and really had me guessing about what was happening

Excellent read

Was not excited about this book. It was a 'hurry up' and get through it, but Mitch Albom fans will pick it up to read.

Yacht sinks and a very few passengers are in a lifeboat when they rescue a man who claims to be the Lord answering their prayers. Interesting idea but not a great story.

THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT by Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven) is another reflection on the meaning of life and redemption. Albom utilizes the adventures of several survivors of a yacht's explosion to explore ideas of loss, faith, and purpose. Throughout, Albom offers his characteristic short maxims like "God starts things ... Man stops them." Or by having the stranger character (who identifies himself as the Lord) tell a survivor that He answers all prayers, "but sometimes the answer is no." Or "Use this grace to spread my spirit. ... Find someone else in despair and help them." Much of the inspirational story is told through diary entries interspersed with news reports related to the tragedy. The ending feels a bit abrupt and THE STRANGER IN THE LIFEBOAT received some mixed reviews, but the spiritual questions it raises and the mystery of what happened to the boat and whether anyone will survive carries readers through.

This "kettle of fish" was filled with red herrings. I was disappointed in the over-hyped and barely developed stranger and distracted by the alternating perspectives between a first-person presence in the boat at one time and the investigation on land at another time. The journal was just a completely absurd and not credible object for connecting these separate plot strands. And, frankly, the lack of character depth combined with this pointless story left me wondering whether Mitch Albom was depressed when he wrote it. Out of respect for this author, I am not going to post this review on social media and the library will likely purchase the book just because readers will ask for anything by Albom..

An emotional read that made me sit and think about my relationship with God and what I’ve been through. Such a great read, would recommend to anyone.

Ever meet an author, who no matter what they write, you need to read it? I have a handful of those authors and Mitch Albom is one of them. The Stranger in the Lifeboat weaves so many layers into it’s short page length that the reader is left needing to see what it all means. Think grief, tragedy, survival, love, and new beginnings and you will just scratch the surface of this great story. Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes a person needs a recharge. A reminder. A reinforcement. This book is for that person. This book is about greed. This book is also about miracles. And forgiveness. And hope.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Books, and Mr. Albom for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I read this in a single night, absolutely riveted to the story and unwilling to wait until the following day to find out what happened. Honestly, I'm very hesitant to recap the plot in any way, other than to say "read the blurb," because the unfolding of the story was such a powerful experience for me. I was reminded in part of The Life of Pi, with its metaphysical aspects and shipwreck survival narrative, but the Stranger in the Lifeboat had much stronger religious-based themes of faith, belief, and surrender to God's purpose. I am a Christian but the book was written in such a way that any monotheistic faith could find a lot of meaning. I felt profoundly moved upon finishing the book, and immediately suggested it (post-publication, of course) to several friends. This one will stick with me for a long time, I think.

Mitch Albom does not disappoint readers in The Stranger in the Lifeboat. A lot of feelings to examine with a surprising end.

I received an electronic ARC from Harper through NetGalley.
This is a story of coming to terms with grief and healing. It's about seeing where your faith rests and what you believe about God in times of death and chaos. Albom's writing style is relaxed and makes readers feel they are also sitting in the lifeboat and the island as the story unfolds. Albom's books stay with a reader and offer further thoughts to ponder after you read them. This one is no different. It's broken into three storylines - Sea, Land, News - so readers can follow what is happening in each. No spoilers, but the actual timelines and real events when the ship sank are revealed as the reader moves through the story. Love the twist when the Lord reveals who He is. No spoiler but when readers reflect, it's been obvious all through the book. They may also suspect who found the raft on Monserrat, but again, it's not confirmed until the final pages. Definitely one I will revisit again.

The Stranger in the Lifeboat
by Mitch Albom
Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2021
Harper
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.

Truly marvelous book!
I will recommend it. Thanks to Harper and Net
Galley for the ARC.
5 stars

I just finished my ARC (thank you HarperCollins) of The Stranger in the Lifeboat by Mitch Albom. This is the story of nine survivors of a terrible shipwreck. They are floating helplessly on a raft in the ocean with no rescue in sight. When all hope starts to seem lost, they come upon a stranger floating in the ocean, who claims to be the Lord. According to this gentleman, they can and will be saved if they all believe in him. The story is told in three parts, The Land (investigation), The Sea (the Raft) and The News (publicity). A raft and diary is washed ashore and found by a detective that is investigating the explosion of the yacht. The diary is written by a man named Benji that was a deckhand on the yacht and is now one of the survivors adrift in the sea. Each character in this novel is very different from the next, however I feel that the reader can see himself in all of them, which made this novel very unique to me. I am an avid fan of Mr.Albom. I have loved his books since Tuesdays With Morrie (which guided me through young adulthood), and I can never quite decide which I love more, his fiction or his nonfiction works (Finding Chika broke my heart). It’s a tie (haha). That being said, I really LOVED this book! It allowed me to go deep within myself and reflect on my own faith, as I truly believe anyone who reads this book will have done the same. This is a profound story of faith, hope and survival, and a definite recommended read.

On a super luxury yacht, the rich and powerful of the world gather to solve the problems of the world. The last night of the cruise sounds of explosions rip the night as the opulent vessel sinks. As the morning dawns there are ten survivors in a lifeboat and one claims to be God. The story of the survivors in the boat is told by Benji, a deckhand who writes in a journal to his love, Annabelle. As with other Mitch Albom's books, this one haunts me as questions of faith, grief and the will to survive run through my head. A compelling, thoughtful novel that will make you question your deepest beliefs. I highly recommend this book!

Mitch Albom's book, Stranger in the Lifeboat, like some of his other engrossing novels, explores the spiritual, this time how to make the most of second chances. The story centers around survivors of a yacht that sinks from an explosion on board and their skepticism about a man they pull aboard their lifeboat who claims to be God.
Albom is a superb storyteller who relies on simple prose to weave an intricate story. Are there explanations for what happens to the survivors on the lifeboat? Would God answer their calls for help? How would they know if God did?
Much of the story is revealed through the thoughts of a detective who discovers a notebook written by one of the survivors in the shipwrecked lifeboat. He too is forced to reckon with these same questions and how it affects his own beliefs about God.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story and particularly to those, like most of us, who search for meaning in our lives.