9/13/07

I'm a Believer!

Darn you, Mitch Albom! Darn you for being so good!

I was all set to be a snob, equating Mitch's writing to cotton candy, vapid fluff of no value.

Then I read For One More Day, his newest release.

Maybe it was the fact that my father died about a year and a half ago and the loss was still fresh. Maybe it was the fact that my mother died when I was five, before I had a chance to establish an adult relationship with her and understand the loss and what it would continue to mean throughout my life.

Whatever the reasons, the book touched me deeply. I read while I distractedly stirred the sweet and sour sauce, glancing up from my book every few paragraphs to make sure I wasn't burning anything. I read while David finished the sweet and sour sauce. I looked longingly at my book all during dinner — but I didn't race back. It was a mix between wanting to finish and wanting to savor, mixed with a little fear of what honesty I would find in its pages.

It was well-written. The characters were rich, the dialogue was realistic, the storyline was compelling. Tell me: wouldn't you want to know what happens when a lost and defeated man who tries to commit suicide instead spends the day with his dead mother? Read Carole's review below for a true (and great) review.

I cried, but not until the end. (And you must read from cover to cover. Every page.) The rest of the time, I read cautiously as the lesson unfolded.

I was satisfied with the book. I enjoyed it. I will read his other works soon, but I will savor the magic of For One More Day just a little longer.

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