After a deadly ship explosion, nine people, shipwrecked and adrift, struggle to survive. A few days in, a strange man appears floating in the waves near the raft. When one of the passengers exclaims, “Thank the Lord we found you,” the man whispers, “I am the Lord.”
We listened to this book on a trip in the car, narrated by the author himself. It was a compelling story but I found it confusing at times and the message from the author was never quite clear. Perhaps it was purposefully ambiguous, so the reader could draw their own conclusions?
It’s common, with Albom, to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the bits of wisdom floating around in the narrative. His books are often about faith and spirituality but never specifically so.
When I googled “stranger in the lifeboat” to see if the meaning of the catchphrase would shed any light on what Albom was trying to say in this book, this is what I found:
“The idea of the stranger in the lifeboat – we’re all in a lifeboat getting by with what we do and there’s a force with us. If you believe in nothing, have no hope, that force is always going to be a stranger. If you believe in that good, it can become the thing that you lean on that ultimately saves you.”
I have to say that after reading several of his short novels, my favourites are still Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.
Joanne's Reading Blog 
I love that Google quote! We’re all in a lifeboat and there’s a force with us.
I’ve found Albom a bit inaccessible (I thought it was me😊). I gave up after The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Maybe I’ll give him another chance.
Interesting comment Wilma. Albom does provide glimpses of something in his stories, but the point does often seem elusive, even though the narrative seems simple enough and his short books are easy to read.