For One More Day [Hardcover]

Mitch Albom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2008

From the author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie, a new novel that millions of fans have been waiting for.

"Every family is a ghost story . . ."

Mitch Albom mesmerized readers around the world with his number one New York Times bestsellers, The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie. Now he returns with a beautiful, haunting novel about the family we love and the chances we miss.

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.

Through Albom's inspiring characters and masterful storytelling, readers will newly appreciate those whom they love--and may have thought they'd lost--in their own lives. For One More Day is a book for anyone in a family, and will be cherished by Albom's millions of fans worldwide.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Albom's, second novel, retired baseball player Charley "Chick" Benetto—facing the pain of unfulfilled ambitions, alcohol abuse, divorce, and estrangement from a grown daughter—returns to his abandoned childhood home and attempts suicide in a bungling fit of rage. He encounters the spirit of his deceased mother, Pauline "Posey" Benetto, who Chick thoughtlessly took for granted during both his formative years as cocky athlete and his booze-soaked adulthood. Miraculously, Chick can now apologize to Posey for his ingratitude concerning the sacrifices she made as a single, working mother. Albom narrates with finesse, particularly in Chick's wistful litany of his mother's pearls of wisdom, "A child embarrassed by his mother is just a child who hasn't lived long enough." If Posey's truisms may not necessarily break new literary ground, Albom deserves credit for giving her depth and complexity that transcend familiar pop culture notions of motherhood in '50s America. The gentle strumming of musical accompaniment befits Albom's brand of writing. This "ghost story" provides an affirming tale of moral instruction and emotional catharsis. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary Cecilia Ahern Mitch Albom, in this new book, once again demonstrates why he is one of my favourite writers ... FOR ONE MORE DAY will make you smile. It will make you wistful. It will make you blink back tears of nostalgia James McBride, author of THE COLOR OF WATER Another very touching page-turner STAR magazine A warm and tender tale IRISH EVENING HERALD --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 197 pages
• Publisher: Perfection Learning (April 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1606861581
• ISBN-13: 978-1606861585
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (440 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,418,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MITCH ALBOM is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold over 28 million copies worldwide; have been published in forty-one territories and in forty-two languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies.

He is the author of ten books, including the newest, "Have a Little Faith. His first novel, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", (9/03) is the most successful U.S. hardback first novel ever and has to date sold over 11 million copies worldwide. "Tuesdays With Morrie," (1997) his chronicle of time spent with a beloved but dying college professor, spent four years on the NY Times bestsellers list and is now the most successful memoir ever published. His three best sellers, including For One More Day (9/06) have been turned into successful TV movies. Oprah Winfrey produced the film version of Tuesdays With Morrie in December 1999, starring Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria. The film garnered four Emmy awards, including best TV film, director, actor and supporting actor. The critically acclaimed Five People You Meet in Heaven aired on ABC in winter, 2004. Directed by Lloyd Kramer, the film was the most watched TV movie of the year, with 19 million viewers. Most recently, Oprah Winfrey Presents Mitch Albom's For One More Day aired on ABC in December 2007 and earned Ellen Burstyn a Screen Actors Guild nomination.

An award-winning journalist and radio host, Albom wrote the screenplay for both For One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and is an established playwright, having authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version of Tuesdays With Morrie (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) which has seen over one hundred productions across the US and Canada.

Albom has founded three charities in the metropolitan Detroit area: "The Dream Fund," "A Time To Help," and "S.A.Y Detroit." Albom devoted an area of his website, www.mitchalbom.com/service , to hosting a directory of local and national service opportunities. He also raises money for literacy projects through a variety of means including his performances with The Rock Bottom Remainders, a band made up of writers which includes Steven King, Dave Barry, Scott Turow, Amy Tan and Ridley Pearson. Albom serves on the boards of various charities and, in 1999, was named National Hospice Organization's Man of the Year.

He lives with his wife, Janine, in Detroit, MI.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

230 of 238 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars To Live In Hearts We Leave Behind Is Not To Die, October 8, 2006

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For One More Day (Hardcover)

Mitch Albom pays homage to all mothers with this novel that beautifully shows the enduring power of a mother's love, a love so strong it can transcend even death. The moral of the story is not particularly original and not even handled in a unique way. But, grab the hankies and prepare to spend several hours reminiscing along with Chick Benetto about the things you wish you had done better with your own mother. Chick Benetto has hit rock bottom---divorced, alcoholic, has-been baseball player, and now comes the ultimate slap-in-the-face---his beloved daughter does not invite him to her wedding. After being shut out of the biggest day in his only child's life, Chick sees no point in continuing his miserable life and attempts suicide. But for his suicide he is drawn once again to Pepperville Beach, to the modest home where he grew up with his mom, dad, and sister. That is, until his dad deserted the family and life changed dramatically. The surprise for Chick is that his mom is still in the house. Intellectually, he knows she died ten years ago but here she is---cooking his food, sharing stories, giving advice.

The reader learns about all the times Chick's mom stood up for him and all the times he let her down. The writing is smooth and poignant, the memories both joyful and sad. If you have lost your own parents, the words will be doubly sad. But Chick has been given a very special gift: he learns that when someone is in your heart, they're never truly gone and they can come back to you, even at unlikely times. Chick has the unheard of luxury of being able to spend just one more day with his mother, having the chance to ask questions about things that have bothered him, finding out at last why his father left, and much more. How does it happen? Is this just another ghost story or a religious experience for non-believers? I think I shed the most tears when I realized at novel's end who was telling the story.

I think sentimental readers will find this one enjoyable and uplifting. So take it for what it is, a nostalgic trip back to childhood, that period of time that never lets you go, even when you're so wrecked it's hard to believe you ever were a child.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love your mother, October 10, 2006

By 

Emil Dickens (Somerset, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: For One More Day (Hardcover)

By far, "Five People" is my favorite Mitch Albom book, but this book is worth a read. The other negative reviewers are missing the point, I think. Yes, the main character is a deflated, defeated, shell of a man, but that is precisely the point. The man is no hero....but again that is the crux of the story....how many of us are heroes? How many of us would like to reflect on our lives and maybe try and see things more clearly, try to better understand the choices we made, and the choices the people closest to us made? To understand the sacrifices people make for love?

Read the book, and then call your mother....if possible....if not, make peace in your heart..this book will help you do that.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book for Healing After Loss, May 16, 2007

By 

Michael J. Armijo (Marina Del Rey, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: For One More Day (Hardcover)

The first line I underlined when I started this book was: EVERY FAMILY IS A GHOST STORY. THE DEAD SIT AT OUR TABLES LONG AFTER THEY HAVE GONE.

The last line(s) I underlined at the end of the book were:

SHARING TALES OF THOSE WE'VE LOST IS HOW WE KEEP FROM REALLY LOSING THEM. ONE DAY SPENT WITH SOMEONE YOU LOVE CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.

And so...based on these lines...you can get a feel for how any one person will relate if they've ever lost a loved one. I, personally, liked his TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE book much better--but this is worthy of reading just to find the precious lines within. ;)