The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir
by John Grogan
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Book Reviews of The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir
Book Review: Laughed harder than I have in quite some time!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you grew up Catholic in the Midwest in the 1960s or 1970s, you will definitely relate! He gets a glimpse inside the nun's dorm and found it to be depressing and quiet, prompting him to revisit his thoughts on why the nuns were so mean to all the boys in his class. He's confused about what to say in his 1st confession (he decides to lie at the last minute, fearing damnation for his crush on a mom in the neighborhood, "coveting thy neighbor's wife"). He follows the lead of the older altar boys, who all drink the communion wine leftover from the mass. As he gets older, he rebels and plants pot in the family garden, thinking his very conservative dad will mistake it for a weed. He bikes around the neighborhood with his 2 best friends, smoking cigarettes in an overgrown field. Very funny memoir! Takes an emotional turn in the final chapters when his dad becomes seriously ill.Book Review: What a great book!
Summary: 5 Stars
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
This is John Grogan's follow-up to "Marley And Me:Life And Love With The World's Worst Dog".But if you're expecting a sequel to that charmer,forget
it,although Marley does make a brief appearance here.Instead,this is John Grogan's own life story,and rarely has a memoir been done so well.This warm,beautifully written book is loaded with charm,taste,humor,and compassion.But most of all,it's John's deeply felt love letter to his parents,and that love really comes out full force.The best part shows how it even helps him solve a years-long crisis of faith and brings him home in more ways than one.All in all,this is one of the year's best books,and one of the best autobiographies in years.Enjoy!
Book Review: Real Life for Real People
Summary: 5 Stars
What a spectacular insight into the condition of being human, in all it's glory, growth, and heartache. This book restores dignity to living an average life without the hype, and more importantly with a good sense of humor. It's wonderful to know that in a society addicted to scandal, drama, and shock value that there are real people out there living real lives worthy of publishing. Reading this book was like coming home again. If you enjoy falling in love with real characters in all their flaws, having a good laugh, and maybe even a trip down your own memory lane; then you have found what you're looking for in this book. Be warned though. While the some of the author's antics will make you laugh out loud, you may also need some kleenex before you're through with this one. (or as in my whole LOT of kleenex)Book Review: varied opinions
Summary: 5 Stars
I was curious about the people who gave this book 1 or 2 stars. Were they all from the Bible Belt? Were they nuns and priests? Were they far right, bible thumping born agains? The answer is "no"...just goes to show that no book is going to please all people.
I actually liked this book more than Marley & Me. Most likely, it's because I was traumatized more by growing up Catholic than I was by my dog. I thought the author accurately and humorously portrayed what growing up in the 50's was like. (despite experiences other readers may have had, shooting a rocket into someone's house WOULD have been a big deal in my youth.)
The ending was particularly well written and it is apparent how much the Grogan's loved and were loved.
Book Review: Not at all what I expected
Summary: 1 Stars
My priest suggested that we read this book; I suspect he thought it was about a man's journey to God; that's definitely not what it was. It was about a man whose youth is filled with early age drinking, smoking drug use, and generally bad choices, with no apparent show of regret. A man who turned away from God and thinks that the baptismal ritual is a bunch of hocus pocus. When he couldn't recall the words to the Lord's prayer, he substituted stupid sounds in a childish way, even though he was well past childhood. A man who while his father is seriously ill chose to avoid going home to visit him. I saw a man with no qualities worth wanting to emulate; no examples that were positive in any way. This will be the last Grogan book I ever read.