For One More Day by Mitch Albom
Published on September 26, 2006 by Hyperion
Genre: Inspirational
Pages: 197
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that covers a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?
As a child, Charley “Chick” Benetto was told by his father, “You can be a mama’s boy or a daddy’s boy, but you can’t be both.” So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.
Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.
He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother, who died eight years earlier, is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened..What follows is the one “ordinary” day so many of us yearn for, a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain the family secrets, and to seek forgiveness. Somewhere between this life and the next, Charley learns the astonishing things he never knew about his mother and her sacrifices. And he tries, with her tender guidance, to put the crumbled pieces of his life back together.
Review
This is absolutely one of my favorites from Mitch Albom. It is a short story but it taught me a lot of lessons about life especially on appreciating our loved ones while they’re still alive.
The story was all about Charley “Chick” Benetto. The name sounds familiar right? He’s a former baseball player and after his retirement he became a salesman, a job he strongly detests. He used to have a happy life with his wife and daughter, but all fell apart after the death of his mother who endured a lot of sacrifices after their father left them.
The story is a very inspirational one. There were even some times that I became mushy and got teary eyed. It had a positive effect on me. I realized that we tend to take for granted those who love us and always go after to those who aren’t. The story talks about how a Mother endured a lot of sacrifices for her children.
This story was actually based on Chick Benetto’s journal. The things he experienced during those times that he was unconscious after his attempted suicide. He was very lucky to get a chance to be with and talk to his mother again. It was heartbreaking how after all the sacrifices the mother had endured, the son chooses to follow what his father told him to do to please him.
Mitch Albom has been one of my favorite authors. He never fails to amaze me with all his works. I love the way he writes all his stories. Like Mary Higgins, he uses very simple words that will help you read the story thoroughly without bothering to look for its meaning in the dictionary. The way he put his effort and his time to his works is another point. It stated in the book that it’s been three years since he met Chick. I adored how he makes time to know the person first before writing their stories.
It is a perfect book to everyone of any age. You’ll get inspired and would learn a lot from it.
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