A story of life and forgivness

For One More Day (2006)
Albom, Mitch
philosophical novel
5/5 Stars









     For One More Day is about a professional baseball star who climbs to the top, gets marries, and has a picture perfect life. Charley Benetto's life goes in an unexpected downward spiral spiral when the troubles of life lead him to the addiction of alcohol, and suddenly his picture perfect life is in tatters. He divorces his wife, loses his team, and loses control over himself. His daughter was married, and he was sent a picture and card, but no invitation. Charley at the lowest point in his life decides to leave this life behind. Mitch Albom writes about Charley's incredible story of "dying" and learning to accept the hand he was dealt in life.

     Charley's life was full of unexplained events. His parents got a divorce and he never heard from his father for quite sometime, and he was not sure if he ever would hear from him ever again, but suddenly his father comes to random events in his life, yet does not leave Charley with the feeling of wanting to be a "Daddy's boy" anymore. This book has a major theme of forgiveness as the story progress so does Charley. He understands what it means to be forgiving and he changes, he forgives himself and others around him for anything that they had done.

     The narrator of the book is first person. Charley tells his story and makes you truly feel like you know him and have grown up with him through it all. The style of the book is written in short chapters that switch back and forth from present to past. You learn about all of the things that have built his character, and you know all of the emotions he is feeling and the thoughts he is thinking.

     Like most of Mitch Albom's books this book is to be taken more seriously, so the audience is most likely going to be mature adults. The book is more dry and harder to understand from some of the things that go on in the story it is hard to believe. The subject is not a light one it is sad, and personable. When you read this book you really do need a serious attitude toward the story or it would be more difficult to take in.

     I would most definitely recommend this book to someone who was willing to read it with a serious attitude, yet if they were not the type for the book I would not be so into the idea of recommending it. I think that if I were to recommend this book it would be to an adult that is okay with reading dry, serious, emotional books because you will experience a wave of emotion if you do read it, so be ready. James McBride, author of The Color of Water said: "For One More Day will make you smile. It will make you wistful. It will make you blink back tears of nostalgia. But most of all, it will make you believe in the eternal power of a mother's love."