The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir
by John Grogan
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Book Reviews of The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir
Book Review: Growing Up, Growing Away, Coming Home
Summary: 4 Stars
THE LONGEST TRIP HOME is a heartwarming and highly readable boy-next-door memoir about growing up Catholic in 1960s-70s suburban Detroit. It's also about growing independent from family and away from faith, and, decades later, coming back to face parental health declines.
Simply written and straightforward in structure, the book's appeal is its universality -- that every ordinary life is filled with interesting and meaningful moments. That said, Grogan briefly loses sight of the reader near the end and segues into more of a Grogan family history than a memoir for public consumption. Still, his story is fun and touching and relatable in so many ways that I recommended this book to my siblings and cousins.
Book Review: Not quite Marley, but still good
Summary: 5 Stars
Grogan has written another good book, it isn't as good as his first book but is definitely a good book. The book is predominately about the author's childhood growing up near Pontiac, Michigan with overbearingly Catholic parents. Catholicism is a predominant theme in the book but is definitely not a ringing endorsement of the Catholic Church, and would probably dishearten deeply religious Catholics by its openness. The book's lack of dept into the authors relationship with his wife makes me want to go back to read Marley again to see if the time period was sufficiently covered in that book (I will probably just wait for the movie though). Overall it is a good book.Book Review: Peek Into a Catholic Family
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed reading John Grogan's memoir. It gave me insight into Catholicism through his humorous experiences as a kid growing up and also the confrontations with his parents as an adult concerning his lack of faith. It shows how religion can be divisive in relationships but how love can still triumph. I felt bad for his parents who were devout Catholics seeking to raise their children in their faith and not having any of them really embracing it as they had.
If you like stories about families, humor and dealing with elderly parents, this has it all. If you have Catholic background you would probably identify with many of his religious experiences.
Book Review: INCORRECT CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
Summary: 4 Stars
When will anyone ever get the concept of "immaculate conception" correct?? John, if you want to discuss it in your book, research it. The immaculate conception has to do with Mary, mother of Jesus, that SHE was conceived without sin. God preserved her from the original sin and lived her entire life without sin. This concept is constantly being confused with the virginal birth/conception of Jesus. If you have doubt, go on the Catholic website and research this. I am not Catholic, but have much respect for the Catholic religion, so it surprises me that so many Catholics do not understand this concept. PLEASE, anyone doubting me, check it out, ask your priest.Book Review: A Fine Example of a Memoir Written in Chronological Order
Summary: 5 Stars
THE LONGEST TRIP HOME, written by John Grogan (MARLEY AND ME) is a fine example of a well-done memoir told in chronological order, starting in the author's early childhood and ending in his middle age with his father's death. It is humorous (Grogan is good at self-deprecation), telling (lots of details about growing up in a devoutly Catholic household, typical of many other households at the time), and introspective (Grogan traces his separation from the church and how he and his parents came to terms with this).I recommend anyone interested in writing an inspired chronological memoir read THE LONGEST TRIP HOME. Grogan is a talented and skilled writer.