|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HELP | |
|
  $13.95 List price:
HARDCOVER, USED
Ships in 1 to 3 days
More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:The Longest Trip Home: A Memoirby John Grogan
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:
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. Review:"Grogan follows up Marley & Me with a hilarious and touching memoir of his childhood in suburban Detroit. 'To say my parents were devout Catholics is like saying the sun runs a little hot,' he writes. 'It defined who they were.' Grogan and his three siblings grew up in a house full of saints' effigies, attended a school run by ruler-wielding nuns and even spent family vacations at religious shrines, chapels and monasteries. Grogan defied his upbringing through each coming-of-age milestone: his first impure thoughts, which he couldn't bare to divulge at his First Confession (the priest was a family friend); his first buzz from the communion wine he chugged with his fellow altar boys; and his coming to know women in the biblical sense. As Grogan matured, his unease with Church doctrine grew, and he realized he'd never share his parents' religious zeal. Telling them he's joined the ranks of the nonpracticing Catholics, however, is much easier said than done, even in adulthood. At 30, he fell in love with a Protestant, moved in with her and then married her — a sequence of events that crushed his parents. In this tenderly told story, Grogan considers the rift between the family he's made and the family that made him — and how to bridge the two." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:What impulse — regret, devotion, prickliness — drives pewfuls of Irish Americans to tell the world in moans, yelps or self-therapeutic confessions about their Catholic childhoods? Something must be in the holy water. In the old country, James Joyce led the impious way with "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man." To cite just the short list, we've had Mary McCarthy's "Memories of a Catholic Girlhood,"... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review) Book News Annotation:Before he met the life-changing dog called "Marley," Grogan and his
family led a typical life as devout Catholics outside Detroit in the
1960s and 1970s. Grogan left behind him a series of disasters that
only a child of the sixties and seventies could accomplish. At the
same time, he wondered why the stability, rigorous economy (social
and otherwise), and deep faith of his parents did not come to him
naturally. This account of his growing is a truly funny narrative
about a funny kid in a funny time in America, for all the funny kids
who took a while to find out who they were.
Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:With his trademark blend of humor and pathos that made "Marley & Me" beloved by millions, John Grogan tells the powerful story of a son in the making--a universal journey of love, faith, and family that explores what it means to break away and find the way home once again. About the AuthorJohn Grogan's first book, Marley & Me, is a number one international bestseller soon to be released as a major motion picture. John lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, Jenny, and their three children. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 2 comments: | |||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Don't Miss
