For One More Day kept me turning the pages as I constantly wanted to find out what was going to happen to main character, Chick, next, or how his deceased mom was going to teach him yet another valuable lesson of life. I particularly enjoyed the chapter dividers titled: “Times my Mother Stood Up for Me” & “Times I didn’t stand up for My Mother” – or something similar to that – I don’t have the book with me now to do a true, direct quote! :) Regardless, these little inserts were tidbits of life lessons in their own way – times that Chick has reflected on from his childhood and probably regretted in most cases. The main take away of the book for me was to take advantage of the time you have with your parents right now – make amends with whatever issues you have with them now while you still can because they won’t be with us forever! Also, that issue you have with them that you continue to harbor will most likely blow up in your face in the form of depression, alcoholism or some other type of negative behavior. This was the case for Chick – who defied his mother to gain his father’s approval and attention repeatedly throughout his child and adult life, and as a result missed out on one of the last moments he had to share with his mother before her death. In the end, Chick was defied by his own family and was left alone to alcoholism and attempts at suicide – not a lifestyle I think any of us desire!
It was a quick read, and if you’re a fan of Albom’s other books I’d still recommend it simply because how can you NOT read all of the books by one of your favorite author’s!
Stay tuned for my 2010 reading list! I'm so excited to put it together :)
