Why do I feel like it’s such a guilty pleasure when I read Mitch Albom’s books? Why do I practically hide them behind, say, copies of Falkner or Vonnegut or even Zinn as I eagerly read through, cry and cry and cry, and heave a satisfied sigh when it’s all over?

Maybe it’s because when you read a Mitch Albom book, you KNOW your’e in for a sob fest. The biggest criticism he receives, I think, is being overly sentimental. So why pick it up if you’re, like, not wanting a good cry, right? Or maybe it’s because his books are all pretty similar, and you’re not exactly being a literary genius by diving into one. Either way, I think I’m too old to care about what other people think about what I’m reading, so I’ll cop to loving Mitch Albom right now and stop the hiding.

I absolutely loved For One More Day. The story of Charles “Chick” Benetto and his slow spiral into loneliness and despair due to alcoholism following his mother’s death. After Chick tries to kill himself, the ghost of his mother appears to him and together they revisit much of their past together, causing Chick to realize how much he had taken her for granted—and misinterpreted—during his lifetime.

Though Chick’s father was the one who abandoned his family, Chick continued to prefer him as his mother steadfastly provided for her children, working hard as a single mom while the entire town scorned her. Chick realizes that she had to sacrifice a lot to care for her children, to provide for their education, and to bear the rejection and blame that he inflicted her with throughout his own life. Chick even left his mother one weekend to be with his father, only to discover that she died while he was gone.

How many of us cannot find truth in this story—even if not for our mothers, for another loved one we took for granted and have regrets with? How many of us long for just one more day with a loved one to express what we didn’t say during his or her lifetime?

Yes, it’s a tear jerker, and yes, many people will roll their eyes as they read, encountering deliberately emotional passages meant to make you choke and sob. But it’s also an homage to motherhood and the sacrifices so many single moms must make—and a wake up call to the children who just cannot see it at the time. It’s a quick read, so if you haven’t cried in a while and want to warm up that hardened soul and fire up those tear ducts to make sure they still work, why not give it a go?