The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir [ペーパーバック]

Grogan's memoir is one of the best I've read in a long time. On one level it's about growing up Catholic and balancing conflicting family values. But mostly it's such a good read that I'd recommend Longest Trip Home to any fan of the memoir genre.

The first part of the book takes us through Grogan's traditional Catholic upbringing: big family, loving parents, Catholic schools. Memoir readers will recognize familiar themes, such as the cruel Catholic schools. But Grogan adds his own touches. I've always wondered if altar boys really sipped the wine and Grogan tells us how it's done. We also meet Shaun, the Grogan family dog, who earned the nickname "Saint Shaun" for good behavior. Readers can speculate on how Shaun influenced Grogan's response to the famous Marley.

Grogan's parents displayed unusual understanding and sensitivity. Realizing John was a miserable misfit in Catholic high school, they allowed him to transfer to public school, where he discovered journalism and lowered his GPA.

Although the first half offers a good read, Grogan's real story begins when he moves in with Jenny, the woman who was to become his wife. Grogan's parents demonstrate the powers of deep denial. Assuming their thirty-year-old son has lived a chaste life, they write long anguished letters.

Grogan writes unsparingly yet lightly of his own struggle to be his own person yet honor his parents' beliefs. He describes the way his contemporaries relate to their religion as "cultural Catholics" and "cafeteria Catholics," both styles rejected firmly by his parents. As his children grow up, Grogan and his wife Jenny compromise -- but only up to a point. I found myself cheering for Jenny, who brought reason and common sense to many tense situations.

In the last pages of the book, Grogan shares his experiences of his father's last days. He shares memories with siblings, videotapes his father and tries to be supportive through medical procedures that seemed cruel and senseless to me. Why put an elderly man through chemotherapy and a final stint in the ICU?

Grogan doesn't comment. Indeed, he rarely analyzes, presenting a model of the "show don't tell" school of writing. But at the very end, he makes an unusual new friend. And he suggests, in a light-hearted way, that his father continues to look out for him.

That's the real gift of this book: It's a mixture of humor, nostalgia, sadness, and understanding. And of course he's a very good writer -- so good you don't notice till you're done.

it was outstanding. It went from laugh out loud funny, to sobbing uncontrollably. I grew up about the same time John did, was raised Catholic Irish, and abandoned the church at about the same age John did. John poked a little fun at his Catholic upbringing, but never crossed that line to irreverence or disrrespect. There are parts of this book that difinitely hit home (counting the Virgin Mary statues in the house)and the non Catholic may not find quite as entertaining, because they will probably think they are fabricated- they aren't!!! I love the part where John and Jenny stay in their parent's bedroom as newlyweds- with the crucifix, the Virgin Mary's and the rosary all staring at them.
I was a hippy, always in trouble, and was the first rebel in my family to quit Catholic school after sixth grade and attend public school. But will wonders never cease- after 30+ years of not stepping inside a church except for an occasional wedding or funeral I started attending Catholic Masses on a regular basis about 3 years ago. I thank God that I had a good foundation, and when I was ready to go back to church I knew where to go. I look back and am so appreciative that my family gave me the start that they did. This is a heartwarming book that I will definitely recommend- especially to my Catholic family and friends

Before John Grogan had lovable, terrible Marley, he was raised by a very conservative, Catholic family (putting it mildly). He goes to Catholic school, is an altar boy, and spends huge chunks of his life through middle adulthood concealing from his parents that he has no particular affection for religion and that he has abandoned many of the tenants they care most about. As he marries and raises children according to his own moral code, Grogan feels the rift between himself and his parents widen. However, once his father, who had seemed so towering in his childhood, begins to experience a rapidly failing health, Grogan looks anew at his childhood and his relationship with his parents.

Quote: "At West Bloomfield, the teachers offered learning the way waiters offer canapes at a cocktail party. You could help yourself or wave them away. If I wanted to learn, they would teach me; if I chose not to, they were happy to ignore me. After nine years of Catholic education, where the nuns and brothers forced performance, often by the threat of physical pain, I was free to fail."

I really enjoyed Marley and Me, so I was looking forward to reading this book. It was not bad, but it read like the stereotypical Catholic childhood. I realize it is strange to offer that as a critique concerning someone's actual life story (like they could help it!), but it did get exhausting to read after a while. I guess I would have at least liked some thoughtful analysis or different spin - something that feels like we haven't heard it all before. In fact, it sounds like the life stories of Grogan's father or brother Tim would have been much more interesting to read. These are given a brief fly over treatment that sounded fascinating and left me wanting to read more about those two. A paragraph about his father's early life - "itinerant childhood," boy during the Depression, financially responsible for his mother and siblings after his father dies, "double deferment after Pearl Harbor and his decision to enlist anyway." Perhaps an opening for Grogan's next book?