Captivating, meaningful, and thought-provoking books can often be hard to come by, not to mention an entire series or collection. This frustrating reality has caused me and others to want to quit reading altogether, vowing that we’ll “pick it up again someday”… yet alas, that “someday” never seems to come.
With the absence of class and college chaos over the summer, I approached “someday” head-on with a lofty goal: to read 10 books. I enjoyed The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays with Morrie in high school, so starting with Mitch Albom’s extensive catalog seemed a good choice.
For One More Day chronicles the impassioned story of Charley Benetto’s connection with his mother. His perception of their relationship changes when he believes he only has a few more hours left with her. Charley reflects on his childhood in a different mindset as a father and husband struggling with his marriage. He, like us, slowly begins to understand his parent’s past choices as he grows older and experiences life’s challenges on his own.
In his signature style, Albom approaches topics such as mortality through a philosophical lens. He urges readers to question the impact of their choices and put into perspective what is most important in their lives. The themes of family ties and caring for loved ones are central ideas.
One of my personal favorite quotes from For One More Day that encompasses the moral of Albom’s story is “There’s a story behind everything… Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begin.”
Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family details the shockingly true story of Albom’s adopted daughter, Chika Jeune. Born three days after a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Chika’s life began in turmoil. After being brought to Have Faith Haiti, an orphanage Albom operates with his wife out of Port-au-Prince, Chika was diagnosed with an illness that required treatment in the United States.
Her journey quickly became one driven by joy, frustration, humor, and gut-wrenching emotions. Readers have much to learn from the high-spirited and witty young Chika, whose story makes us fiercely reconsider what we hold close to our hearts.
My favorite quote from Finding Chika is, “What we carry defines who we are and the effort we make is our legacy.”
What I admire most about Albom’s unique prose is how he tackles such meaningful themes while remaining accessible to a vast audience. People of all backgrounds and ages can find something that they connect to. Each person will take away a different meaning of the story, which is incredibly beautiful.
Although he does infuse philosophical and spiritual ideas, his writing never feels too heavy to the point where a reader might want to put the book down. Albom manages to juggle profound emotion with humor and a light-hearted spirit. His books make you feel good simply by reading them and becoming part of the story. Such a symphony of talents is extremely rare and something I haven’t found in many other authors.
Reading is an investment of time; for busy college students, we want to know that the content we’re indulging in is valuable. Hopefully, this article is an encouraging push to try something from Mitch Albom’s vast 10-book collection! I highly recommend Have a Little Faith, The First Phone Call from Heaven, and The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. His newest book, The Little Liar, releases November 14, 2023.
“A book [has] the genuine power to stir and comfort its readers.”
Mitch Albom