Thursday, December 3, 2009
For One More Day
The book For One More Day by Mitch Albom is a thematic story based on the struggle of a man who tries to commit suicide. As he crosses the border from the living to the dead he encounters his dead mother who convinces him he needs to forgive himself of his past and move on. In short, he needs to change his mind and decide to live. The idea of forgiveness...especially forgiving oneself is central to this book. Have you ever read anything with a similar theme? Does the theme relate to your life in any way?
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24 comments:
The theme does not relate to me because i don't really want to kill myself and wouldn't want to anyway so i can't really relate to the theme
The theme does not relate to me in anyway because i am not suicidal. Also because he chose do forgive himself he has a chance at life. This is big because he wanted to commit suicide but came back to thye lving anyway.
The theme in part to forgiving myself relates to my life. When I blew off the necassary things I needed to do to help heal my Scoliosis, it got worse. Now, I am having a hard time forgiving myself for the dumb choice I made. All I can do is try to fix my mistake.
I can relate to that, in the sense that I dwell on the mistakes that I make and sometimes don't let them go. To Chris and Tommy- the theme isn't "don't kill yourself" but "forgive yourself", which is something everyone (especially me) should learn. Sometimes we are our own biggest critics
We should all relate to this theme in some way. Almost everyone has done something so horrible that it is hard to forgive themselves. Other people may forgive you in time, but deep down you will never forget what you did. You shouldn't think less of yourself every time you make a mistake, because it will most likley lead to the worst mistake of your life... suicide. I agree with JaaaamesK, because it is true that we are all our own worst critics.
I agree with mrs. edwardcullen and JaaaamesK said. I've definately done something in my life that was hard for me to forgive myslef on. Others may have let it go but it took me longest to say its ok. Some things I still remember today that I look back on and feel so stupid and thoughtless for doing and a few I still haven't gave up on kicking myslef for it. Of course, some people are stronger than others when it comes to mistakes, I being one of the weaker ones. But my mistake are ones that most people would make in their life and are the kind of experiences that people say what make you who you are. Suicide though is not a joke and definately not something to look at as an option. It takes much worse things to slip into that state of mind. Those who say I can't relate to it, I bet there is something in your life that you have done that when you went to bed that night you thought about it and felt horrible for doing it. In that way you can somewhat relate. You don't have to be totally suicidal. If you had to be no one would relate. But maybe you haven't been through something like that and in that case, you're lucky.
I agree with Julia, you dont have to be trying to decide whether to forgive yourself, everyone has to live with their decisions, sobefore you do somthing, think, will you ever be able to forgive yourself? Another book that i have read that has a similar theme, is Joker One, where the main character has to make his decisions, alyays based off weather he can live with them durring the night, he commands Marines in Iraq, and he needs to be able to live with things from killing people to letting people live that could later come back and kill him.
I do not recall reading anything similar to this.
I also agree will julia because i hsve done something hard on myself and i gcould not get over it. One of the things i have done was break one of my dad's pool sticks and i have been hiding it since april. I am afraid i will get in trouble.
Another book that has a similar theme is Elswere by Gabrielle Zevin. In it, 16 year old Elizabeth Hall died from a taxi's careless driving. When she arrives in Elswere, a place where you go after death, she won't release the past. She keeps dwelling on the idea that she is dead, and there is no way to get back to her family. Also, I agree with mrs.edwardcullen because we have all done something we regret, and we are our own worst critics.
Yes, I've read something very similar with this theme. The book named, "The Burn Journals." It is about a boy who tries to commitee suicide various times, and then one time, he put on a robe and poured gasoline all over it, and lit himself on fire. When his brother smelt the fire, he immedatly called the fire department and then ran upstairs. There Brent was, not dead, but barely concious. These books connect because of the suicidal thoughts going through their heads and how they decide to deal with their stresses in life.
Well this i can relate to not the death part, but not being able to forgive, i look back on my life and think about wow i really should have studied more, and i if i did forgive a friend would they be around today, or if i visted my grandma more would she have lived longer, of course discions haunt everyone, in different aspects of there lifes some deffintly heavier than others, and no i havent reed a book like this before.... sounds like a good book :)
I can definately relate to this theme. There have been plenty of times that I should have done something different and I can't find a way to forgive myself. Forgiving yourself is one of the hardest things to do, especcially when you have made so many mistakes in life such as I. I have never read any book with this kind of a theme to it.
i can kind of relate to the theme of this story. i am very hard on myself, ecpecially in sports, i dont use my discouragement in a bad wat though, i would try to get better and not make the mistake i made, again. this relates because instead of being upset i have to change my mind set to positive, just like this guy did from unforgiving to forgiving, which is a defficult thing to accomplish.
this book seems like a really weird and derpressing book, the kind of which i would never read. I have though read books about forgiving yourself, and i think that u should always forgive yourself.
i can't relate to the suiciding part but i can relate to not being able to forgive. Of course i have done things that its hard to forgive but i realize that everybody has done something they regret. so everytime i remember that i can get through the day without worrying,
i agree with julia. i think that veryone has done something bad atleast once in thier lives and it is hard to forgive yoursef for. But i do not think that a lot of people would turn to suicide.
i have never read anything like this. but in a way i can connect to my own life. i have done things that i later, sometimes within a minute instantly regret doing or saying. i do not think ever about commiting suicde becuase i have done something wrong, i think we just all need to learn from our mistakes.
once again I do belive that killing yourself is not cool and If it were me I would turn around and stop. Life is worth living even in terrible times
I have not read a book that is like this one, but I am still like him. I have done hard stuff on myself where I just don't want to forgive. I am not suicidal like Tommy said but the stuff that I have done will affect my life forever.
@all the people who posted saying "This theme does not relate to me because i am not suicidal," Just because the book is about a man who tries to commit suicide, it does not mean that you cannot relate this to yourself. The central theme is forgiveness, and everyone can relate to that. Think about Lamb to the Slaughter. Just because it was about a murder, does not mean that the theme relates to that.
To answer the question, yes i can relate to the theme. Everyone at one time or another has problems, whether personal or public, with forgiveness. Whether with my family or with friends, I always have trouble forgiving them because i can't get over my pride. In the song "Ain't to proud to beg" a man explains that he will still beg for his girlfriend not to leave him, even though it woudn't be the socially correct thing to do. In a way, this is what we should all me doing. We shouldn't let how proud we are interfere with out relationships, as it can destroy our lives. All in all, this is a fantastic theme, and it is also something that ALL of us can learn from.
I agree with Julia. I have had many times throughout my life where it was Expecially hard for me to forgive myself. You have to just forget about the past and move on. Suicide should never be the answer because you only get one chance at life and why waste it over some small mistake. I haven't read a book with a similar theme, but I think a book like that may be interesting. This does not apply to me because i have never gone that far with something that after it I would want to end my life.
Some excellent debate on this topic. Kudos to those bloggers who noted that you should not focus on the ACTION of the novel (suicide) for a connection. I think there is much in the discussion to think about. Well Done. - H
I have had times in my life that i regret doing or saying somthing. Somthing thing that is especally hard for me to forget or forgive myself for but in time the feelings can heal themselfs. in this story aperntly the main charecter didnt really forgive his mistakes and he beame suicidal (last resort) this does not relate to my life not just because i have never though about suicide but because i always forgive my mistakes.
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