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
Florinda says
If you haven’t filled this tour yet, I’d love it if you could find a place for me. I just finished reading “Marley & Me” and loved it, and I read an excerpt from this one a while back and enjoyed that too.
Sheri says
Congratulations on your 2009 BBAW for Best Book Tour Group!
That’s wonderful news!
Sheri