102-2 英文讀書心得徵文比賽第三名 應外二 楊O玟

For One More Day

Mitch Albom 

        The story is about a man named Charley "Chick" Benetto. Chick used to be a baseball player, but he retired due to injury and became a salesman to make a living. He is desperate and he often drinks to excess; therefore, his wife leaves him with their only daughter and asks for divorce. When he finds out that he is not invited to his daughter’s wedding, his life hits rock bottom. Then, Chick decides to return to his hometown and take his own life. He intends to commit suicide by colliding with a truck on his way home, but he fails. Afterward, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother, who has passed away eight years ago, is still alive and welcomes him home as if nothing has happened. Then, Chick spends one day with his mother, and learns something that he never knew about her and her dedication to the family. With his mother’s guidance, Chick pulls himself together and lives a new life.

        At the introduction of this book, it says that the story explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one? When I read this book for the first time, my aunt had just passed away. That was my first time to know the feeling of losing my beloved one. I was sent to my aunt when I was little because my parents wanted to focus on their work and save more money at that time; therefore, my aunt and I became very intimate. I remembered that I used to call her “mommy aunt” because she was just like my second mother. I remembered that we went to everywhere together, even if she went to play Mahjong with the neighbors, she brought me there. Nevertheless, I came back to live with my parents when I was going to attend elementary school. After that, I could only meet her once a year. When I got the news that she had been diagnosed with cancer and she didn’t have much time, I was frightened, and full of regret. I regretted that I seldom called her to care for her, not to mention to visit her. I regretted that I hadn’t showed my appreciation for taking care of me and repaid for it. This is the main point of the story－we often ignore the importance of people around us until it is too late to compensate. Chick didn’t know that his father left their family because of an affair; he thought that his mother expelled his father out and he was unhappy about it. Until Chick spends one day with his mother, he realizes that his mother is the one who sacrifice herself to protect her family. The secret used to be a wall between Chick and his mother; however, after the day, he knows his mother again. Chick bears in mind what he has learned at that day and starts a new life. Although this can be considered as a happy ending, Chick has already lost his mother. If Chick had cherished the time that he spent with his mother, the misunderstanding would have been clarified earlier.

       From this book, we learn that we have to cherish every day we spend with our beloved ones before it is too late, and we also learn the importance of family. So, why don’t you pick up your phones to call your parents and tell them you love them now?