John Grogan, author of The Longest Trip Home, on tour October/November 2009

About John

I was born in Motor City, Detroit, Michigan, on March 20, 1957. My very Catholic parents were hoping for a St. Patrick’s Day baby. Then for a St. Joseph’s Day baby. I was having no part of it. Instead, I arrived on the first day of spring, the youngest of four. Not long after, our family moved from the city to the sleepy village of Orchard Lake, Michigan. My neighborhood was called Harbor Hills, and it is the setting for much of my new memoir, The Longest Trip Home.

Visit John Grogan’s website, and also be sure to check out his blog.

About 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.

John Grogan’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS

Monday, October 19th: BookNAround

Wednesday, October 21st: The Novel Book Worm

Monday, October 26th: Book Club Classics

Tuesday, October 27th: Readaholic

Wednesday, October 28th: Bloggin’ ‘Bout Books

Tuesday, November 3rd: Bookstack

Wednesday, November 4th: The Girl from the Ghetto

Thursday, November 5th: The Book Zombie

Monday, November 9th: The 3 R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness

Wednesday, November 11th: The Book Lady’s Blog

Thursday, November 12th: Cozy Little House

Tuesday, November 17th: Starting Fresh