The most helpful favorable review
To Live In Hearts We Leave Behind Is Not To Die
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.
The most helpful critical review
A shovel-full of sugar, makes the messages go down...
Not that you won't find yourself choking-up, from time-to-time, along the way. In any case, during the few instances when you are able to suppress your gag-reflex, you may find that candy-coated death may be the most apt description of "For One More Day." Even for those of us with an occasional literary sweet-tooth, there comes a point when we must ask ourselves if our indulgences are really worth having to endure root canal-- which is just what we experience via Mr. Albom's pen. At it's heart, "For One More Day" is a rip-off of the basic premise of Thorton Wilder's play "Our Town," dumbed down in it's slender existential musings, and amped up in its elevator-quality Muzak. In addition to Lifetime Channel caliber melodrama, it also features such Hallmark worthy philosophical insights as the importance making the most of every day, living life to the fullest, being in the moment, and saying I love you. Deep stuff. As far as plot and characters go, I realize I'm being vague here, but that's because neither left any lasting impression. To end on a note of praise, though, in its depictions of an afterlife, "For One More Day" is not altogether far-fetched. Having slogged through it, I believe I now have a much more accurate idea of what purgatory must be like.
