For One More Day by Mitch Albom (2006, Hardcover)

More Than Just A Good Read
Book Review
By James Myers


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For One More Day
By Mitch Albom

Rating:



Mitch Albom, the author of Tuesdays with Morrie, and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, has written another provocative, insightful, sentimental book, the causes us to explore the possibility that we could have one more day in time with a parent. Perhaps long enough to see things from their point of view, and in the process to alter our life. Albom has been called the “fearless explorer of the wishful and the magical”, and this book is no exception. The result is a transcendent, sentimental and profound work that has the power to stir the reader.

For One More Day is the story of a mother and son, and the epiphany that comes with the experience of spending one more day with a loved one. Charley Benetto as a child favors his father. But suddenly, the father leaves, and the 11 year old Charley and his mother are forced to fend for themselves. Charley’s embarrassment and yearning for a complete family goes unanswered during the remainder of his childhood.

Years later, Charley is a broken man. Alcohol and depression have left him without a job, a family, and any semblance of a normal life. He reaches his limit when he learns that his only daughter has not invited him to her wedding. He decides to take his own life.
The book turns Capraesque, when Charley decides to return to his hometown. He fails in his attempt to end his life. He decides to go to his old home, where he once lived with his mother. To his amazement, he finds his mother, who died eight years before, is still inhabiting the old house, and takes him in as if nothing has ever happened. Charley drifts back in time, to spend one more ordinary day with his mother. What follows is a series of eye-opening revelations that cause him to come to terms with his mother, an explanation family secretes, and ultimately forgiveness. Charley learns things about his mother he never knew, including the pain and sacrifices she made for him. Drifting back and forth between the past and the present, Charley and his mother put back together the pieces of his broken life.

This book could have been a smoltzy throw away, but Albom’s masterful storytelling, inspiring characters, and biting insights make this a must read. This is wonderful books that spend many weeks on the best sellers list. For One More Day is a book of life and love lost, and then found. This book is more than just a good read, but a masterpiece of study of the existential condition of all of us. I highly recommend this fine book.