I was drawn to Mitch Albom’s new book, “For One More Day,” for lots of reasons.

I’ve followed Albom’s career ever since I found out he was a sportswriter at a Detroit newspaper. I loved “Tuesdays with Morrie,” a work of nonfiction that came out in 1997 and became one of those little books I’d read aloud to anyone who would listen.

This new novel’s premise seemed intriguing: What would you do if you had the chance to have one more conversation or one more day with a lost loved one

I know I’ve thought about that plenty of times in the two months since my mother died. What I’d give to go shopping with her again, have a glass of wine with her and talk about what life’s been like for everyone in my family since she’s been gone.

In “For One More Day,” the main character, Chick Benetto, goes back to his 1950s childhood home after he’s attempted suicide and talks to his mother, who had died eight years earlier. This is an “as told to” story about an “ordinary day,” in which Chick’s mother, Posey, tenderly guides him around the neighborhood.

His journey, alternating between the past and present, takes him back to his childhood, with his absent father and working mother, and goes on to clarify his adulthood as a baseball player, alcoholic, estranged father and husband.

It’s a story about the foibles of human spirit and the power of a mother’s love. The New York Observer calls it a “syrupy concoction,” and Publishers Weekly says it “wields pathos as if it were a Louisville Slugger” — but trust me. The story’s not predictable. And if you can read it without shedding a tear, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones.

In an interview I read, Albom said the novel grew out of his last book tour, when readers talked about their parents or someone they loved — and the “what ifs” of having one more day with them. Later, when he wrote in Parade magazine, he invited readers to tell their stories.

That got me to thinking. I could do the same thing — ask readers of Our Town to tell their own ”For One More Day” stories. Writing can be therapeutic, just as reading about life’s lessons from others can be.

So what do you think Would you send me your story

You can e-mail it — any length will do — to cherim@tracypress.com, or drop a copy at the Tracy Press office. I’d like to print your stories in an upcoming Our Town.

• If you have something to submit a book review to Book Nook, send it to tpourtown@tracypress.com.

• Send your own stories to Cheri Matthews, cherim@tracypress.com, or 145 W. 10th St., Tracy 95376.