About One More Day

“One More Day” shines a light on the surprising depth and complexity of Grace Woods Care Center, where the facility itself is small, yet the emotional world is expansive. While grieving and loss play a part, so do love, joy and compassion. The novel is told in four voices: Thomas, a retired anthropologist who approaches aging with curiosity; Lillian, a woman with dementia trying to find her way home; Sally, a compassionate caregiver blindsided by love; and Beth, the center director, who strives to maintain quality care through difficult changes.

“One More Day” is a story of endings and new beginnings. Ultimately, in the words of playwright Natalie Symons, it’s “… a tender celebration of life.”

One More Day is available now worldwide. Find it on Amazon here, or ask for it at your favorite local bookstore.

Praise for One More Day

“Achingly beautiful, heartbreaking, and ultimately a tender celebration of life. Diane Chiddister has written a moving, sometimes humorous exploration of the universal tragedies of human existence—grief, guilt, and death. It’s through Chiddister’s exquisite prose and storytelling that we come to know and love the lonely, the lost, and the dying souls that inhabit Grace Care Center. And it’s through their eyes that we revel in the many splendors of life.”

—Natalie Symons, award-winning playwright, author of Lies in Bone

“One More Day is a probing, compassionate—and sometimes funny—look at that most universal of experiences. Set in the Grace Woods Care Center in Small Town, Ohio, we meet a diverse cast of well-drawn characters. Their stories, told in wonderful detail, are about time, friendship, family, and forgiveness—but most of all about hope. My favorite character is the indomitable Lillian, a dementia patient, whose feisty spirit and dogged determination made me cry and cheer for her.”

—Lucrecia Guerrero, author of the award-winning novel Tree of Sighs

“One More Day is a novel that needs to be read. Diane writes with a respect and empathy for her characters that will resonate with readers of all ages. It is a heartwarming—and heartbreaking—story that will leave you smiling and crying at the end.”

—Joe Downing, author of The Abundant Bohemian

“One More Day is a clear-eyed examination of aging, death and dementia at Grace Care Center, an American assisted living center; it is also a joyful celebration of life. Diane Chiddister penetrates deeply the lives of both residents and their devoted caretakers: Lillian in her hallucinatory world of Alzheimer’s; Thomas the anthropology professor, alienated but ever curious; executive director Beth, pressured to change by prospective new owners; and nurse Sally, who lives her life vicariously through her patients.

“Told without illusions, One More Day is amazingly uplifting and wonderfully written with gentle humor and subtle insight. If you enjoy Ann Tyler’s novels, you’ll love Chiddister!”

—Ed Davis, poet, novelist, workshop leader