Name: For One More Day
ISBN: 9781401303273

Mitch Albom

In an inspirational debut novel by the author of Tuesdays with Morrie, Charles ""Chick"" Benetto, grieving over the death of his mother, uses alcohol as a crutch to deal with his loneliness, isolation, and depression and the disintegration of his life, until an encounter with his mother's ghost brings him new awareness and leads him to attempt to put his life back together.

For One More Day

When I lacked even the self-respect to keep myself alive, she dabbed my cuts and I fell back into being a son; I fell as easily as you fall into your pillow at night, And I didn't want it to end.

Haley

Sharing tales of those we've lost is how we keep from really losing them.

“and that's the thing when your parents die, you feel like instead of going into every fight with backup, you are going into every fight alone.”

Withers

When you are rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.

I hope you never hear those words. Your mom. She died. They are different than other words. They are too big to fit in your ears. They be long to some strange, heavy, powerful language that pounds away at the side of your head, a wrecking ball coming at you again and again, until finally, the words crack a hole large enough to fit inside your brain. And in so doing, they split you apart.

jean

The truth is, there is no line. There’s only your life, how you mess it up, and who is there to save you. Or who isn’t.

When you’re rotten about yourself, you become rotten to everyone else, even those you love.

All that happens when your dream comes true is a slow, melting realization that it wasn’t what you thought. And it won’t save you.

There is everything you know and there is everything that happens. When the two do not line up, you make a choice.

A moving story from the internationally bestselling author of Tuesdays With Morrie that will 'make you smile . . . make you wistful [and] . . . make you blink back tears of nostalgia' (James McBride) As a child, Charley 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 him disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence. Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been destroyed by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits rock bottom after discovering he won't be invited to his only daughter's wedding. And he decides to take his own life. Charley makes a midnight ride to his small hometown: his final journey. But as he staggers into his old house, he makes an astonishing discovery. His mother - who died eight years earlier - is there and welcomes Charley home as if nothing had ever happened. What follows is the one seemingly 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.

This story is heartwarming in a way that you'd never really expect the things that unfolds. It's great that the book isn't just about wanting to die or what happens at the moment you lose consciousness and sees the world in a different lens before you stirr awake like a completely new person. It's so much more than that. It's beyond the topic of a mother's sacrifice and how they'll forgive their children over and over. And I guess, just like Charley, there are things we'll regret for the rest of our lives because it hurted the people we love. Some of it could be reconciled and some needs to stay as a lesson in our lives. Overall, I applaud this story and I applaud Mitch Albom for another thought-provoking novella.

"Children should never choose."

This story is heartwarming in a way that you'd never really expect the things that unfolds. It's great that the book isn't just about wanting to die or what happens at the moment you lose consciousness and sees the world in a different lens before you stirr awake like a completely new person. It's so much more than that. It's beyond the topic of a mother's sacrifice and how they'll forgive their children over and over. And I guess, just like Charley, there are things we'll regret for the rest of our lives because it hurted the people we love. Some of it could be reconciled and some needs to stay as a lesson in our lives. Overall, I applaud this story and I applaud Mitch Albom for another thought-provoking novella.

It is a book which combines family and a second chance. It wonderfully depicts a mother's unconditional love. From the start and until the end all I can say was, Posey was such a strong woman.

Penelope Sanchez

I don't think I will ever recover from this book. Lost my mother almost three years ago and I couldn't think of anything else but wishing she could talk to me one last time, too, while reading the book. I kept wondering if there were things my mother never told me... like things I should’ve known, things that might have changed my whole life—and thinking about it only made me feel even worse. I felt numb.

Maybe I missed more than I ever realized. Maybe my mother kept more secrets than I ever imagined. Maybe she just wanted one more day to stay.

And now I’m torn between wishing I could read this book again for the first time, or wishing I had never known it existed at all.

I don't think I will ever recover from this book. Lost my mother almost three years ago and I couldn't think of anything else but wishing she could talk to me one last time, too, while reading the book. I kept wondering if there were things my mother never told me... like things I should’ve known, things that might have changed my whole life—and thinking about it only made me feel even worse. I felt numb.

Maybe I missed more than I ever realized. Maybe my mother kept more secrets than I ever imagined. Maybe she just wanted one more day to stay.

And now I’m torn between wishing I could read this book again for the first time, or wishing I had never known it existed at all.

𓃠

5/5 because chick's grief so relate to mine

This is the story of Charlie, a child of divorce who is always forced to choose between his mother and father. He asks the questions many of us yearn to ask and we never ask while our parents are alive and who we wish we could have one more day.

NAKAKAIYAK BAKLA 😞 pero mayb if close kami ni mama or like nafeel ko rin yung 'mother's love' na sinasabi nila, mayb mas maiiyak ako.. hahaha no joke gusto ko rin maranasan yang mother's love na yan yung tipong mama mo talaga nagpalaki sayo,, wala e ganito na talaga kami ni mama... hindi ko na rin kaya ayusin kung ano man yung nangyari sa aming dalawa 🤷🏻‍♀️ yaan na goiz it is what it is

i read this book one day after mother's day while sitting next to her and i love my mama

def not my fave of his, but still inspiring, and makes me miss my mom even more!

amada ♡

This took me a while to get through. Just not as captivating as other books I’ve read by this author. Not awful but not super engaging for me. 

Kendall Munson

Kirsten Simkiss

As the book I read just prior to this was The Five People You Meet In Heaven, I can't help but feel that this was a very similar story with a very similar message and a very similar main character. However, I found this book more emotionally impactful and more relatable than the other. In fact, they even link up. The mother of Chick in this book was the cousin of Joe and Eddie from The Five People. It was so similar that it's almost hard to see them as separate works. The formatting is the same. The writing style is just as simple. The subject material is similar, though with some minor differences - namely that Chick didn't die. (Who knows! Maybe he'll go on to meet five people anyway.)

I wasn't in love with this book, but I enjoyed it well enough to read it through in one sitting. I rounded what I would have given 3.5 stars up to 4 for Goodreads. It was certainly worth the read and was much more relatable for me than The Five People You Meet In Heaven, even as a 26 year old woman who's never been good at sports. This is because the relationship between parent and child is always fraught with turmoil and laughter. You grate on each others nerves. You say hurtful things. You love them and you make them laugh. That's how family is. Even when things are a little rough between you, you still love them.

The moral of the story is, as I said, very similar to The Five People You Meet In Heaven, but with some small newer nuances. While there is certainly an element of forgiveness in For One More Day, it's more about appreciating those who love you and never taking their love for granted. 

It's a very nice book, certainly, though dark and exploring some dark themes. Suicide is a prominent topic in this book, so please be advised when heading into reading this book. Alcoholism is also a very notable issue for both the main character and his father. There are also other elements in the story that I won't mention so I don't give away any spoilers, but this is probably not the best book for a child of any age to read even though the vocabulary is simple. Ultimately, if you are a parent, you know your child better than I and can either recommend it to them or attempt to dissuade them. If the language content is a concern, trust me when I say that it is actually very simple reading.

Shrouk Shafie

"And if my mother said it, I believed it."
What an awesome book. It touched my heart so deeply. It really can be a life changer.

Sian Wadey

I didn't like it as much as The Five People You Meet In Heaven, but I still thought it was great. It was recommended to me by a teacher, and the story isn't about the ending it's about the journey that the lead character takes. In fact, I'd like to read it again simply because of all the little details.

Jaymie Lemke

Another story that I was really anxious to read. Left me disappointed. Glad it was a quick read, as I didn't even like the main character. Perhaps that was the point?

This book was an easy read, but it told a very important and significant story. The plot was touching and the writing was beautiful.

Shannon Arputharaj

"And I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know". 

I love the openness of this book. All the faults and all the damage is exposed; you really should hate the main character. It doesn't sugarcoat the truth, it only explains a situation that had many sides. In this way, the novel was incredibly insightful and incredibly honest. 

Granted, I have been super blessed to have a mother like the one portrayed. Many families don't have parents who care as much. I recommend this novel to anyone leaving for home for an extended period of time. It'll make you appreciate what you have. Like all of Albom's books, it'll help you understand and make better use of your time on earth.

Princess del Castillo

daisy

this book got me crying and i miss my mom even more after reading this. a must read!

Caitlin Berger

I would give this 3 and a half stars if I could! I did enjoy this book a lot, it was a very fast and easy read. The themes and messages were interesting and meaningful. In the end, for me, it was just a good book to read, nothing more, nothing less. If it's on your to-read list, go for it! If not, it's not such a huge loss.

Every family is a ghost story . . .' As a child, Charley 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 him disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence. Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been destroyed by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits rock bottom after discovering he won't be invited to his only daughter's wedding. And he decides to take his own life. Charley makes a midnight ride to his small hometown: his final journey. But as he staggers into his old house, he makes an astonishing discovery. His mother - who died eight years earlier - is there, and welcomes Charley home as if nothing had ever happened. What follows is the one seemingly 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.

erin

In his highly anticipated new novel, Albom tenderly explores the themes of family, divorce and regrets, and the wish that we could have just one more day with a lost loved one.

For One More Day

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