Title of the book: For One More Day

Authors name: Mitch Albom

Publishers name: Sphere
Year of publishing: 2007
Country: Great Britain

GENRE
The genre of this book is philosophical fiction. Philosophical fiction usually refers to
works of fiction in which a significant proportion of the work is focused to a discussion of
questions that is normally addressed in a philosophical way. These might include the function
and role of society, the purpose of life, ethics or morals and the role of experience or reason in
the development of knowledge. The story is delivered in a philosophical way that makes us, the
reader to ponder about our role in society, our purpose of life and the experience that we
experienced as a part and parcel in our daily lives.

THEME
The main theme of For One More Day is forgiveness, of others and of one's self. The
main character, Chick Benetto, is so tormented by guilt and self-loathing at the beginning of the
story that he tries to end his life. From the time he was a child his loyalties have been divided
between his absent father and the mother who has been a constant in his life, and the choices he
has made have left him essentially hating himself. Through the unexplainable experience of
spending just one more day with his dead mother, Chick learns to forgive, and is able to find
reconciliation and make restitution during the years he has left.
A second central theme in the book is the love of a mother for her children. It is only
after her death that Chick truly understands and appreciates the hardships his mother endured,
and the strength and courage she showed time after time as she struggled to take care of
her children's needs and to protect them from the harsh realities of life.
The most difficult hardships that Chick has to endure in his lifetime stem from the behavior of
his father and his father's demands for the loyalty of his son. In choosing his father, Chick must
deny his mother, and he finds himself lying to her and treating her with disrespect time and time
again. Chick's father's dream for him is to be a successful major league baseball player, and
when things do not work out this way, Chick must deal not only with his own disappointment but
also with his father's pressure to continue in the quest, even though Chick knows it is not to be.
Chick's wrestling frustrations and self-hatred manifest themselves in adulthood in erratic
behavior fueled by alcoholism. Chick's instability eventually causes his marriage to break up
and leads to his daughter being ashamed of him and not wanting him around, even at her own
wedding. Chick's ill-advised responses to the challenges in his life create a self-perpetuating
cycle of rejection of and by the ones he loves most.

SYNOPSIS
This novel tells the story of a day in Charles Chick Benetto life. Chick Benetto is an
ex-pro baseball player who was divorced and estranged from his family. The story begins from
the point of view of an anonymous narrator. The narrator told her or his encounter with an
elderly man at a small town baseball field. The narrator stated that the story is going to be told in
Chicks own voice and perspective from this point onwards in order to make the story believable
by the readers.
Chicks narrative begins with a description of his attempted suicide that is triggered by
the arrival of a photograph of his daughters wedding received to him by mail. He was not
invited to the wedding so that is just like adding salt to his wound. The way Chick describes it;
he felt that the photograph represents the latest in a long string of personal failings and
disappointments and was also the final straw which leads him to decide to end his life. He is
prepared to kill himself and he sets off on one last journey to a small town in California where he
grew up. As he nears the town, he lost control of his car in an attempt to avoid collision with a
transport truck, but he survives. After the accident, he walks into the town and climbs the same
water tower he climbed as a child. He jumps off in another attempt to kill himself. He survives
the fall and awakens to see his long dead mother standing over him.
Chick walks into town in disbelief. But at the same time, he desperately hopes that what
he experienced right now is real. He arrives at his childhood home and discovers that his mother
is there waiting for him with a breakfast. He is still in a state of disbelieving but grateful for a
chance to spend one more day with his mother, Posey. At first, everything seems incredibly
normal: Posey is as chatty as she always was, busy with her friends. However, she is also
mysterious and cagey about how it is possible that she is even there.
Chicks narration continues with a series of visits between his mother and some of her
friends or clients that intertwined with his recollections of his past. The visits also focus on his
increasingly desperate to engage his father in an affectionate and open relationship. These
attempts are focused on baseball where Chicks father wants him to play professionally. At the

same time, Chick recalls how his mother wanted him to succeed at school, how things were often
tense between his parents, how his mother eventually threw his father out of the family home and
how Chick continued into adulthood and pursuing his fathers dreams for him.
Chicks experiences with his mother are occasionally interrupted by strange and insistent
shouts from a male voice that nobody hears but him. As the narrative progresses, his experiences
with his mother become stranger and his memories of his father become more intense. The
shouts also become more frequent. Everything climaxes when Posey takes Chick to visit his
fathers other wife, and Chick is brought back to the world of the living by a young medical
attendant (the source of the voice heard throughout the novel). It seems that Chick has been
having a near death experience in which he learnt some important truths about the relationship
between parents and children.
The novel concludes with an epilogue listing evidence that suggests Chicks story is true.
Chick died about five years after his near death experience and the narrator is revealed to be
Chicks estranged daughter, Maria.

CHARACTERS
1. Charles Chick Benetto
Charles Chick Benetto is the main character of this story. He is a strong and muscular cocky
athlete. Chick grew up caught in between love of his mother and a need to have his fathers
approval. In order to gain his fathers approval, Chick decided to quit college and pursued his
fathers dream to become a baseball player and becomes ignorant of his mothers love and
sacrifices.
2. Pauline Posey Benetto
Posey is Chicks mother and the person who guided Chick during his near-death experience. She
had large, almond-shaped eyes, dark and creamy complexion. She is considered as a very
attractive woman after she was abandoned by her husband. After her divorce, she lost her job as
a nurse because she was deemed as a distraction to the staff and patients by being attractive.
After that, she worked as a hairdresser and cleaned the apartments to support her family. She
died at the age of 79 because of heart attack.
3. Leonard Len Benetto
Len was Chicks father. Len was a very good looking and stubborn man. His stubbornness is
passed down to Chick. He also used to play baseball and that is why he wanted Chick to become
a professional baseball player to fulfill his unfulfilled dreams on becoming a successful baseball
player. He also owns his own business. He left Posey because he was married to someone else
when he was in German and he prefers his second wife compared to Posey. Chick idolizes Len
because Chick wanted to become closer to him. Len uses this as a leverage to get Chick to play
baseball and eventually Chick severed his relationship with him after Posey died.
4. Catherine Benetto
Catherine is Chicks wife. She met Chick during college at a party when he was singing This
Could Be the Start of Something Big.

5. Maria Benetto
Maria is Chicks only daughter and also the narrator of this story. She was born at the end of
Chicks failed career. She had a long straight hair and full lips, just like her mother, Catherine.
She took on sports writing job at college. When she got married, she did not invite Chick and it
cause Chick to commit suicide.
6. Roberta Benetto
Roberta is Chicks young sister. When she was fifteen, she suggested to Chick that her mother
should remarry because at that time she was still pretty and she wanted her mother to be happy
again.

TONE
In presenting the story, the author used a lot of different tones throughout the story. The
first tone that is being used is remorseful. The tone was used a lot at the beginning of the story as
Chick was feeling depressed and remorseful of what he had done in the past.
After that, I drank more. Ballplayers in my time always drank. But it became a problem which in
time got me fired from two sales jobs. And getting fired made me keep on drinking. I slept badly.
I ate badly. I seemed to be aging while standing still. When I find work, I hid mouthwash and eye
drops in my pockets, darting into bathrooms before meeting clients. Money became a problem;
Catherine and I fought constantly about it. And, over time our marriage collapsed. She grew
tired about my misery and I cant say I blame her. When youre rotten about yourself, you
become rotten to everyone else, even those you love. One night she found me passed out on the
basement floor with my lip cut, cradling a baseball glove. I left my family shortly thereafter, or
they left me. I am more ashamed of that than I can say. (Pg. 5)
The second tone that is used in this story is angry. This is because at that time, Chick is
angry at his ex-wife or specifically himself for not being invited to his daughter wedding. He
only found out about the wedding when he received a letter from her daughter.
Next, I called my ex-wife. I called from a pay phone. She was at work. Why? I said when she
answered. Chick? Why? I repeated. Id had three days to lather up my anger, and that was
all that came out. One word. Why? Chick. She softened. I wasnt even invited? (Pg. 9)
The third and final tone that is used in this story is concerned. This tone comes out from
Poseys character. Basically she is concerned about her children and especially Chick. These are
a few examples from the novel where this tone is used:
And then the door opened. And my mother stepped outside. My mother. Right there. On that
porch. And she turned to me. And she said, What are you doing out here? Its cold.(Pg. 41)
I gave in. Off the planet. Charley? she said. Whats wrong? I did what you would have
done. I hugged my mother as if Id never let her go (Pg.42)

MAJOR ISSUES AND CRITCAL ANALYSIS

The book that I used for my book review is called For One More Day written by Mitch
Albom. In this book there are several major issues that have become the focus of the book. The
major issues presented in the book are marital problems between husband and wife in their
marriage, children who are caught in marital problems and identity crisis experienced by children
after their parents divorced.
The first major issue that is being discussed in this story is marital problems between
husband and wife in their marriage. Basically the author is trying to imply that there are several
factors that can cause a divorce. The first factor is financial crisis. In the story, it was shown that
Chick and his wife Catherine constantly argued because he lost their money to a fraudulent
investment scheme. Unfortunately, he was also fired from his two sales jobs. These misfortunes
made him keep on drinking. He was never able to regain his work and earn money again.
Catherine grew tired of him that consequently caused their separation. He was thrown out of the
house and was forced to live by himself. Their marriage separation caused him deprivation from
seeing his child and playing his role as father to his only daughter.
The second factor is the differences in a couples culture and beliefs. It was manifested in
the story in how Posey was a described as a French Protestant while Len was an Italian Catholic.
With Len being a Catholic, they always argued on an image of Jesus. Posey would always
remove the image of Christ, which was hung up by the bathroom. And when Len returns back
from work, he would immediately become furious of not seeing what he has previously hung by
the bathroom. This was one cause of the separation between Chicks parents. Due to their
differences, they were drifted apart from each other leaving the children with a broken family.
Lastly, one evident problem in the story is misunderstanding and miscommunication.
When Charley and Roberta were still young, their family practiced democracy but their
fathers vote counted twice. This means that Len was dominant over the family, what he wants is
what the family gets. When Chick was born, he was baptized in a Catholic Church. As he grew
up, he was fed up with baseball skills instead of basic educational knowledge. In their house, Len
decided what food for dinner should be served to the family, what colour to paint the walls of the

house, which bank to be used, which television channels to watch. In short, Posey had no voice
in the family. She only follows what her husband says. This was another reason that led to Posey
and Lens divorce. Since it is apparently unjust that Posey wasnt given the proper right to
freedom of speech she was deprived of respect. She eventually grew tired of this situation that
paved way to their separation.
Sadly and consequently these circumstances between parents eventually all lead to their
divorce. In every separation, it is not only the couple who suffers, but also the children. When
Chick and Catherine got separated, he had hardly heard about his family anymore. Until one day,
he received a letter from his only daughter Maria. The letter informed him that his only daughter
has married a guy, whom he hasnt even met before, just a few days ago. He was saddened of the
fact that his daughter didnt even ask for his permission and neither was he invited to the event. It
was also uncovered that the letter has no returning address, which made him felt even worse
thinking that his family doesnt want him to know where they are currently staying. Marias
parents divorce drifted her apart from her father. She also grew a perspective that her father
wasnt as important as he was before. Apparently, she didnt even include her father to her
wedding plan. It brought changes in the relationship between Chick and Maria who were so close
to each other before.
Psychologically speaking, a child learns from his/her parents. This means that what the
children see from their parents is what they manifest in life, as they grow old. Another domino
effect of problems between parents is that children learn from what their circumstances
encountered by their parents that affected their family. The problem is that it is not always certain
that the child develops a perspective of avoiding those circumstances to happen again when he or
she is put in the same situation. Children, if not all, often gain a different learning from that of
his parents experiences. They often deal with problems the same old way instead of trying out a
new approach even if theyve already known what their parents mistakes has caused their
family. Their present life often resembles that of their parents previous life.

The second major issues that are being discussed in this story are children who are caught
up in their parents marital problem. Issues between a husband and wife do not only stay within
the couples borders, but they also go beyond the eyes of the children. When Chicks father left,
there were evident changes on Chicks behaviour and perspective. Before his father left, he used
to believe that Santa Claus would arrive at their house to bring Christmas presents. After his
father left, Chicks belief vanished with him.
It can be seen that marital problems causes different changes in the life of the affected
child. A childs perspective might change into what he has not believed or thought of since that
one person who made him hold onto this belief has left already. When Chick was in his 8 th grade,
an unusual incident happened one night. His sister, Roberta woke up in panic thinking a burglar
entered their house since she heard peculiar sounds from downstairs. Having no man in the
household, Posey took the obligation of a father in checking out who broke into their house.
Chick and Roberta heard numerous sounds from downstairs. Despite of being anxious of what is
happening, they waited until their mother returned. They were glad to see their mother is back,
safe and sound. As she was calming the kids, Roberta kept on asking who it was and Posey kept
on telling her it was nobody. Chick with a more mature personality was very sure that it was his
father. Even though he knew his father left their family, the fact that he was once a daddys boy
cannot be disregarded. His mothers constant lying made him aloof since Posey did not even let
Len stay.
This event manifests the fact that a divorcee child suffers from the shackles of separation.
It would be very difficult for a child to show his or her longing for the other parent since most of
the people who are in custody of their children often hinder the kids from seeing their ex-spouse.
The third and final major issue in this story is identity crisis. The main character is shown
to have an identity crisis because of his nature of choosing between his mothers or fathers side.
He was very caught up in between choices of his wants and desires as a child and the road of his
dreams to play baseball until he finally became depressed. Charles was having trouble of
deciding what is good and important to him and the dilemma of doing what he wanted in life
when has to choose between family and lifetime dream. As an example: in this book, the
recurring chapters name of Times My Mother Stood Up for Me and Times I Did Not Stand
Up for My Mother explained to us the main character, Charles why he felt guilty for taking

sides and actually wants to have a final goodbye and apologizes to his mother for not being there
for her when she needed him.
Identity crisis is a psychological state or condition of disorientation and role confusion
occurring as a result of conflicting internal and external experiences, pressures and expectations.
Once again, the author did a great job in portraying this issue in the book. I dare to say that most
of the kids out there are having identity crisis. Why? They are having trouble to choose what is
good and important to them and the dilemma of doing what he wanted in life. Parents just easily
forced their children to do something without asking for their childs concern first and it causes
the identity crisis. They are stuck between choosing their own dream or to please their parents. It
causes stress and makes them feel burdened. As parents, they should ask for their childrens
opinion first and makes decision fairly without hurting one another.

REASON FOR SELECTING THE BOOK

You may believe it or not. But after I read this book, I love both my parents more than I
ever had. This is because this book really makes me realise how much my parents have sacrificed
for me since I was born until now. By reading this book, you will see your parents, especially our
mother as the person who has the purest love ever. Besides that, this book also make me want to
try and appreciate all the things my parents have done for me. And that is one of my reasons why
I choose this book.
Besides that, I found this book intriguing and it emphasises beautifully on a mother and
son relationship. It will make us reflect on ourselves and also makes ones eyes go moist and
choke with emotion. The few words quoted in the book as the characters father tells Chick to
choose between being a mamas boy or daddys boy makes me want to cry because I think a
child should never have to choose between parents. It is like comparing which one is better and I
think Chick should have never been put in that kind of situation.
Besides that, this book also teaches one to never take anything or anyone for granted.
This is because in my opinion, I think life is an uncertainty in such way where we may never get
another chance to do or appreciate something or a person. So why not take a minute or an hour of
you time and just sit and appreciate what life has given you as the saying goes, If life hands you
a lemon, make lemonade. One should ensure this lemonade remains sweet instead of letting it
turn sour.

RECCOMMENDATION/TARGET READERS
The first target reader for this book is teenagers. This book is suitable for them because I
think they have already achieved the level of maturity needed to read this book as it touches on
issues that is relevant to their life. Besides that, the content of the book is quite easy to
understand even though the authors writing style brought the readers back and forth from the
past to present. Moreover, the teenagers who have experienced the same experience as Chick
might find the book inspiring and it might help them go through the difficult moment in their
life.
The second target reader for this book is adult or to be more specific, parents who are
having marital problems. I think they should read this book so that they know that they are not
the only ones who are affected when they are having marital problems. Their children are also
affected by it. I hope if they read this book, they can find some kind of solitude or inspired by
Posey. Posey has set a good example as a divorcee by not succumbing to her marriage failure and
society perception on a divorcee. After her husband left, she assumed her role as both father and
mother and raised her children without anybodys help.
The third target reader for this book is to anyone who likes to read Mitch Alboms book.
This is because like other Mitch Alboms books, this book offers the readers the same
sentimental feeling like his other books. Besides that, it is very similar to Mitch Alboms Five
People You Meet in Heaven. However, it depends on how much his fan like his previous books.