Publisher Overview
As a child, Charley "Chick" Benetto was told by his father, "You can be a mama's boy or a daddy's boy, but you can't be both." So he chooses his father, only to see the man disappear when Charley is on the verge of adolescence.
Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. He loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding. And he decides to take his own life.
He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother—who died eight years earlier—is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing ever happened.
What follows is the one "ordinary" day so many of us yearn for, a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain the family secrets, and to seek forgiveness. Somewhere between this life and the next, Charley learns the astonishing things he never knew about his mother and her sacrifices. And he tries, with her tender guidance, to put the crumbled pieces of his life back together.
My Thoughts About This Book:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It’s sad and heartbreaking, knowing he’d only realized his mother’s sacrifice in the verge of dying. This book is filled with so many emotions; particularly guilt and sadness. His mother’s love for him is eternal. And he was a bit unfair to her by choosing his Dad’s side all the time where in fact, his Mom needed the love most because she’d been hurting all along, sacrificed everything, even accepting the jobs he thought was the lowest (criticized her for it), and so they could live. He also did not give a damn about his relationship with his ex wife and daughter. This book will make you realize not to take life and your family for granted. That each and every day that we are given to wake up and live, we must cherish it and the people we care about. That life is not all about success, and that even if life fails you, you should hold on to what you already have and be thankful. This will make you open your eyes to the reality, that our parents and family lives, and even our lives, are but short. We should look around and appreciate the small things, and most importantly, look out with an open heart, to the people who loves us dearly and never ever go any day where you don’t tell them you love them. Because Charley, in this book, was given a chance to realize. But only with his mother’s ghost. It’s heartbreaking, where he haven’t even tried to make her happy, and show her love, when she’s alive. It hurts my heart and made me want to always express my love for my family each and everyday, each and every way i can.. I was hoping in the end he will make it up to his daughter as well. So they can patch things up and start fresh by spending time with each other and getting to know each other more after he was given a chance to live.
Overall it’s a beautiful story ❤️