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 For
One More Day
by Mitch Albom
Hyperion Books
Fans of Mitch Albom's infamous novel Tuesdays with Morrie and The
Five People You Meet in Heaven will enjoy his new novel For One More
Day. The story is told by a sports writer who encounters an interesting
man in the bleachers at the local Little League game. This man, a former
pro ball player named Charles "Chick" Benneto , voluntarily begins to
answer the same question that he is always asked: Why did he try to kill
himself? Chick's story is much broader than just life and death. This is
the story of Charley, a child of divorce who is always forced to choose
between his mother and his father. He grows into a man and starts a
family of his own. But one fateful weekend, he leaves his mother to
secretly be with his father— and she dies while he is gone. This haunts
him for years. It unravels his own young family. It leads him to
depression and drunkenness. One night, he decides to take his life. But
somewhere between this world and the next, he encounters his mother
again, in their hometown, and gets to spend one last day with her— the
day he missed and always wished he'd had. He asks the questions many of
us yearn to ask, the questions we never ask while our parents are alive.
By the end of this magical day, Charley discovers how little he really
knew about his mother, the secret of how her love saved their family,
and how deeply he wants the second chance to save his own.
All of the vignettes are classified
under two distinct categories that illuminate all that Chick Benneto
wishes he could change about his past: "Times My Mother Stood Up For Me"
and "Times I Did Not Stand Up For My Mother." This is a beautiful story
about having one more day to go back and fix the mistakes and regrets in
your life. Mitch Albom is again exploring the magical realm of
communication with the dead; he gives us ways to help us better
understand the power of love in the relationships of everyday life.
Mitch Albom writes sentimental tear-jerkers, but he stays on message
with plenty of love and forgiveness throughout. I’d recommend For One
More Day to anyone who has enjoyed Albom's previous writing, and I think
this book will appeal even more broadly because of the dynamic
mother-son relationship and the nostalgic baseball references.
The story is interspersed with items
saved in Chick Benneto's journal, and the novel will also comfort adults
who have lost a parent and are looking for cathartic reading material.
This book also shows you that hope springs eternal— no matter what
happens in your life, there are always steps you can take to turn things
around. It teaches us that family really does matter, no matter how you
define "family". Mitch Albom literally mesmerized readers around the
world with his number one New York Times bestsellers, The Five People
You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. These are books you don't
just read once but several times during various points in your life. He
has quickly become one of our favorite authors to date. UB
John Mundazio works for one of the numerous publishing companies in the
New York metropolitan area which is currently planning a bold takeover
of the parallel universe in which he occasionally resides with several
of his imaginary friends and at least two of the strange voices in his
head. But he is confident it is not the one you're thinking of at this
very moment. Convinced that Susie-Q's are indeed a food group and that
no REAL list of fun toys is ever really complete without mentioning
"Log"— that quintessential Ren and Stimpy Show toy that boldly dared to
go where no toy ever could... "The Dazed-Meister" refuses to partake in
anything which requires him to dress up like Wonder Woman or sing the
theme song from The Partridge Family in its entirety. He also opposes
floatation devices of any sort.
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