- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow (Oct 21 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0061713244
- ISBN-13: 978-0061713248
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.1 x 2.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 499 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #194,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“Genuinely heartending. . .Grogan invests these events with deeply felt humanity and pathos.” (Janet Maslin, New York Times )
“Wry and witty. . . [a] full-hearted and worthy memoir.” (Washington Post )
“As he did in Marley, Grogan makes readers feel they have a seat at the family dinner table. He’s now a nonpracticing Catholic, but here—to wonderful effect—he confesses all.” (People Magazine, 4 stars )
“As he did in Marley, Grogan makes readers feel they have a seat at the family dinner table. He’s now a nonpracticing Catholic, but here—to wonderful effect—he confesses all.” (Teen People Book Club )
“From the author of Marley & Me (2005), this is an extraordinary memoir of estrangement and reconciliation.” (Booklist )
“John Grogan is more like Marley than he might want to believe. An affable, unassuming rabble-rouser, the author who penned a bestseller about his goofy dog gets up to some hilarious antics of his own ... The resulting story is full of humor [and] poignant scenes. (BookPage )
“As he did in Marley, Grogan makes readers feel they have a seat at the family dinner table. He’s now a nonpracticing Catholic, but here-to wonderful effect-he confesses all.” (People )
“Grogan’s memoir of his journey for identity is akin to Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” (Library Journal )
“With his telltale humor and poignant observations about life and our humanity, John Grogan delivers another emotional wallop here. THE LONGEST TRIP HOME is a must read for anyone who has questioned their faith, sought to understand their identity, and loved their family. In other words, everyone.” (Ann Hood, author of Comfort: A Journey Through Grief and The Knitting Circle )
“Wry and witty. . . [a] full-hearted and worthy memoir.” (Washington Post )
“As he did in Marley, Grogan makes readers feel they have a seat at the family dinner table. He’s now a nonpracticing Catholic, but here—to wonderful effect—he confesses all.” (People Magazine, 4 stars )
“As he did in Marley, Grogan makes readers feel they have a seat at the family dinner table. He’s now a nonpracticing Catholic, but here—to wonderful effect—he confesses all.” (Teen People Book Club )
“From the author of Marley & Me (2005), this is an extraordinary memoir of estrangement and reconciliation.” (Booklist )
“John Grogan is more like Marley than he might want to believe. An affable, unassuming rabble-rouser, the author who penned a bestseller about his goofy dog gets up to some hilarious antics of his own ... The resulting story is full of humor [and] poignant scenes. (BookPage )
“As he did in Marley, Grogan makes readers feel they have a seat at the family dinner table. He’s now a nonpracticing Catholic, but here-to wonderful effect-he confesses all.” (People )
“Grogan’s memoir of his journey for identity is akin to Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.” (Library Journal )
“With his telltale humor and poignant observations about life and our humanity, John Grogan delivers another emotional wallop here. THE LONGEST TRIP HOME is a must read for anyone who has questioned their faith, sought to understand their identity, and loved their family. In other words, everyone.” (Ann Hood, author of Comfort: A Journey Through Grief and The Knitting Circle )
Book Description
Finding your place in the world can be the longest trip home . . .
In his debut bestseller, Marley & Me, John Grogan showed how a dog can become an extraordinary presence in the life of one family. Now, in his highly anticipated follow-up, Grogan again works his magic, bringing us the story of what came first.
Before there was Marley, there was a gleefully mischievous boy growing up in a devout Catholic home outside Detroit in the 1960s and '70s. Despite his loving parents' best efforts, John's attempts to meet their expectations failed spectacularly. Whether it was his disastrous first confession, the use of his hobby telescope to take in the bronzed Mrs. Selahowski sunbathing next door, the purloined swigs of sacramental wine, or, as he got older, the fumbled attempts to sneak contraband past his father and score with girls beneath his mother's vigilant radar, John was figuring out that the faith and fervor that came so effortlessly to his parents somehow had eluded him.
And then one day, a strong-willed young woman named Jenny walked into his life. As their love grew, John began the painful, funny, and poignant journey into adulthood—away from his parents' orbit and into a life of his own. It would take a fateful call and the onset of illness to lead him on the final leg of his journey—the trip home again.
The Longest Trip Home is a book for any son or daughter who has sought to forge an identity at odds with their parents', and for every parent who has struggled to understand the values of their children. It is a book about mortality and grace, spirit and faith, and the powerful love of family. With his trademark blend of humor and pathos that made Marley & Me beloved by millions, John Grogan traces the universal journey each of us must take to find our unique place in the world.
Filled with revelation and laugh-out-loud humor, The Longest Trip Home will capture your heart—but mostly it will make you want to reach out to those you love.
Inside This Book
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!!!!!,
By
This review is from: The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir (Hardcover)
Just a great memoir by John Grogan.The story of his strict Catholicupbringing was funny, heartfelt and sad.His wonderful parents whom he never critized for their beliefs wanted something from him which he could not give.Finally he made peace with himself and his Father before he passed away.How lucky were the elder Grogan's to have such a wonderful caring son. Keep kleenex handy!!!
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Measures the Distance between Faith and Doubt,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir (Hardcover)
I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the book's description. I assumed that there had to be more dog stories in this book. After all, Marley & Me was quite good.Based on this book, most people would agree that Mr. Grogan writes about dogs and families better than he does about his own family. I hope he will go back to dogs and families as a subject. For most of this book, I felt like I was reading the story of my college roommate who fell away from his family's Catholic faith and caused lots of heartbreak. I looked in vain for some view in this book that my roommate hadn't expressed . . . and didn't find any. Then, The Longest Trip Home returned to its roots in exploring the spiritual and emotional space between Mr. Grogan's very devout parents and his "I know what God must think" philosophy. The book hits its highs in that area. Strong faith in Jesus is something that's hard to understand . . . unless you have it. Isn't it interesting that both great faith and no faith can exist among parents and their children? Mysterious are His ways. I was very touched to read about the faith and strong piety of Mr. Grogan's parents. I wish I had met them. It was heart-warming and enjoyable to learn more about how they lived their lives. I was also interested to understand Mr. Grogan's perspective. Why doesn't he believe after a solid religious foundation in the home, at church, and in school? What could be the counter to such great faith as expressed by his parents? I don't agree with the views he expresses in the book and was surprised that he thought they were worth explaining. It seemed more like he psychologically needs to define himself in terms of not being like everyone else. As evidence of that point of view, you can see stirrings of his faith developing since his father died. I also hope that he will find faith. May God bless Mr. Grogan in that search.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Measures the Distance between Faith and Doubt,
By Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 112,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (#1 HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: The Longest Trip Home Lp: A Memoir (Paperback)
I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the book's description. I assumed that there had to be more dog stories in this book. After all, Marley & Me was quite good.Based on this book, most people would agree that Mr. Grogan writes about dogs and families better than he does about his own family. I hope he will go back to dogs and families as a subject. For most of this book, I felt like I was reading the story of my college roommate who fell away from his family's Catholic faith and caused lots of heartbreak. I looked in vain for some view in this book that my roommate hadn't expressed . . . and didn't find any. Then, The Longest Trip Home returned to its roots in exploring the spiritual and emotional space between Mr. Grogan's very devout parents and his "I know what God must think" philosophy. The book hits its highs in that area. Strong faith in Jesus is something that's hard to understand . . . unless you have it. Isn't it interesting that both great faith and no faith can exist among parents and their children? Mysterious are His ways. I was very touched to read about the faith and strong piety of Mr. Grogan's parents. I wish I had met them. It was heart-warming and enjoyable to learn more about how they lived their lives. I was also interested to understand Mr. Grogan's perspective. Why doesn't he believe after a solid religious foundation in the home, at church, and in school? What could be the counter to such great faith as expressed by his parents? I don't agree with the views he expresses in the book and was surprised that he thought they were worth explaining. It seemed more like he psychologically needs to define himself in terms of not being like everyone else. As evidence of that point of view, you can see stirrings of his faith developing since his father died. I also hope that he will find faith. May God bless Mr. Grogan in that search.
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