How did you connect with Oprah, the lady with the Midas Touch?
I met Oprah when the book Tuesdays came out.  Apparently she was one of the first to read it, and she invited me onto her show—to speak for the last five minutes on death and dying.  I went and met her there, and soon she and her producer said they’d like to make a movie out of my book. I almost laughed.  After all, it’s just two guys sitting in a room. …  But okay.  It came out in ’97, and I’ve known Oprah ever since. She always asked that when I come out with a new book, she’ll get a first look.  Earlier I’d sent her Five People You Meet, but they said it was too big … that they liked smaller stories. … This had war, amusement parks, accidents. … When I sent Tuesdays, I got a quick call that same week.  They said, “We love this story! Could we have it?  Of course I said sure—even before it came out as a book.

Okay, I’m sorry, but how in the world do you not get a big head?  How do you refrain from hanging up your phone at a dinner party and saying, “That was that pesky Oprah Winfrey wanting to option another book—even before it’s out. Sorry, I told her not to call me here. …”
Ha!  There’s lots of reasons.  First, you have to be humble if you live in Detroit. If you can’t be humble in Detroit, you’re not paying attention.  We have the worst economy, and as I drive around, I’m always reminded of how blessed I am.  I see my fellow citizens selling their houses.  Also, I don’t live and move around in Hollywood, and I’ve been around famous athletes from Michael Jordan and on up. I’ve found that some are nice, and some aren’t. Some are full of themselves when they’re popular, but in the sports world it’s a fast ride. They’re on top one day, then they get an injury and they’re gone. I’ve seen them humbled when fame was taken away quickly, and I’ve made a note to myself that I’d better be humble all the time. I’m one day away from my world turning on its end.  Also, I’ve found in this business that you’ll have character that you’ve always had.  And given only one night left on earth, you better believe I’ll be with my family; not famous people. 

Tell us about what inspired you to write For One More Day?
It was actually a phone call. I write every morning.  I’m kind of a routine writer, and I was writing another book when I called my mom to say hello. We had a really nice chat and laughed and talked about some funny things. But after I hung up I was hit with a wave of sadness.  I thought, “What’s it going to be like when I can’t pick up the phone and call her?”  I could envision this time of praying, “Please, give me one more phone call with her … one more day … I won’t ask for anything else.” I turned back to my screen, but I couldn’t write.  I couldn’t get that picture out of my head. Suddenly I thought, “Maybe you should write this as a book and quit this other project. And the rest is history.
 
How does your mom feel about the fact that much of this is based on her, and that she was the inspiration for this movie?
I didn’t tell her for a long time.  A book is a long process, and it took a year to write. I didn’t want her asking, “How’s it going?  How’s it going now?” So I didn’t tell her until it was actually published.  I took the first copy off the press, flew to Philadelphia and gave it to her… I told her it contained a lot of apologies and explanations, and I said, “Mom, I think you’ll recognize what I’m trying to say to you here.”