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alidottie's review against another edition
2.0
I just couldn't get into his boyhood memories of his escapades and little boy naughty thoughts, etc. I really liked his parents who were so devout in their beliefs and actions (as Catholics). I was disappointed at how little the author followed his parents ways--even if not their religion. But then again, so much of the book was about his growing up years that's probably more normal than I like to believe! I still think it's a shame.
rmarcin's review
3.0
Memoir about John Grogan being raised outside of Detroit in a very Catholic household and how he got into trouble, didn't practice his faith, and then relied on it later in life. OK book, in my opinion, not great.
thewallflower00's review against another edition
2.0
Dear Mr. Grogan,
We regret to inform you that your life simply is not interesting enough to necessitate a memoir. Your story is basically about insignificant family issues known only to the privileged and ungracious. Your Catholic parents never did anything to you. You committed crimes and got away with it because of your family's stature in the community. And your friends did not.
You had no real conflicts, the worst being your feeble attempt at growing a marijuana plant. Meanwhile, other children are being beaten, jumped into gangs, and raped (re: Precious). Please forward your book onto someone whose life is so much more amazing then yours that he or she will provide sympathy for your plight, because we cannot provide any at this time.
The theme of this book is Grogan growing up in an traditionalist Catholic family. Then becoming a hippie and rejecting those things (for which he receives no consequences, except sad faces). Then becoming an adult, and finding a happy medium. Nothing happens, and when things should be coming to a head, we are disappointed. There's nothing at stake, just a lot of passive-aggressiveness. I think Grogan needed something to follow up Marley & Me and had nothing. So he wrote everything else that happened in life that wasn't in Marley & Me.
We regret to inform you that your life simply is not interesting enough to necessitate a memoir. Your story is basically about insignificant family issues known only to the privileged and ungracious. Your Catholic parents never did anything to you. You committed crimes and got away with it because of your family's stature in the community. And your friends did not.
You had no real conflicts, the worst being your feeble attempt at growing a marijuana plant. Meanwhile, other children are being beaten, jumped into gangs, and raped (re: Precious). Please forward your book onto someone whose life is so much more amazing then yours that he or she will provide sympathy for your plight, because we cannot provide any at this time.
The theme of this book is Grogan growing up in an traditionalist Catholic family. Then becoming a hippie and rejecting those things (for which he receives no consequences, except sad faces). Then becoming an adult, and finding a happy medium. Nothing happens, and when things should be coming to a head, we are disappointed. There's nothing at stake, just a lot of passive-aggressiveness. I think Grogan needed something to follow up Marley & Me and had nothing. So he wrote everything else that happened in life that wasn't in Marley & Me.
knitwgrace's review against another edition
3.0
A good book, but nothing really amazing or life changing. He is a great writer and the stories were interesting that he told. Much of it is about his relationship with his parents as well as their very very strong Catholic faith.
dereadergal's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful book by the author of Marley and Me. Well written, captivating and interesting stories right up until the end. I was hooked from the beginning and wanted to know more and more about John's family and his antics as a child raised in a catholic home and his subsequent leave from being catholic and his struggles he met with his catholic parents.
julietatsak's review against another edition
4.0
john`s mother was a resident at the nursing home i work at, and we`re mentioned a lot in this book, i feel like it`s my job to read it.
doreann's review against another edition
5.0
Entertaining account of the author's life journey and how he came to realize the impact his devoutly Catholic parents had on his life, even while his journey took him away from the church. The ending is poignant and a tear jerker.
kath61's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautiful book. Totally different to 'Marley and Me' but written with such poignancy and love. Grogan does not share his parents' devout Catholicism but never veers into sarcasm; he just tells their story and describes the enviable warmth that the family share. I must admit to shedding tears at the end but it is not a sad book and there is plenty of humour too.
kairosdreaming's review against another edition
3.0
Author of Marley & Me, John Grogan, has a way with words. So when the dog is gone from the story and the memoir is just about him, I was curious to see how the story would end up. Well, that and my grandma included this book in a pile she gave back to me, and I read just about anything that comes into my hands.
Grogan was brought up in a very Catholic household. In fact, his parents were about the most devout Catholics I'd ever read about. But he didn't take to the faith, even from an early age, and his childhood is filled with exploits that are very much rebellious and not in keeping with his parents beliefs. As he grows up, his parent's religion continues to elude them and become a source of contention between them. Even after he marries his relationship with his parents permeates everything.
Grogan is a very undecided man, and he shows his weaknesses in nearly every chapter of this book. I don't think he's very fair to his wife when it comes to big decisions, but she sticks by him anyway. So there must be something redeeming about him, although you wouldn't really see it from this book unless it's the dedication to his parents. But then again we generally don't always paint positive pictures of ourselves and since he wrote this, it shouldn't be surprising that he isn't the greatest person ever. His parents, I have to say I couldn't have handled their religious fervor. They didn't have boundaries from what Grogan described. We only get a few glimpses at his siblings, and I think it would have been interesting to hear more about their lives and how they differed or paralleled from Grogans.
This book is mainly about Grogan's relationship with his father and his stepping away from Catholicism. Now, I don't know much about Catholicism despite having gone to a Catholic school for a year (and threatening to purposely flunk out if my parents sent me a second year) but my thoughts really do mirror what Grogan thinks about the religion. He definitely takes a step back and looks hard at some of the beliefs of the faith and whether or not they fit into his life. But to please his parents, he does still practice a lot of the religion when it comes to baptism and other things for his kids. And the whole second half of the book is dedicated to that and the time he spends with his father while he's sick. I actually enjoyed the first half of the book better as we hear about Grogan's exploits as a child. It was interesting and engaging but then we get to his adult life and it was boring. It drug on and on and was very repetitive. Yes, it is a memoir, but like with any life, some things are more interesting than others. I should note that there is cussing, sexual fantasies, and other things in this book that might surprise someone just thinking it's about a man's journey through his faith. It's not squeaky clean.
This is an ok book. Grogan's writing is eloquent and he does have a sense of humor. But I think it would have been better if he had just stuck to his childhood.
The Longest Trip Home
Copyright 2008
334 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
Grogan was brought up in a very Catholic household. In fact, his parents were about the most devout Catholics I'd ever read about. But he didn't take to the faith, even from an early age, and his childhood is filled with exploits that are very much rebellious and not in keeping with his parents beliefs. As he grows up, his parent's religion continues to elude them and become a source of contention between them. Even after he marries his relationship with his parents permeates everything.
Grogan is a very undecided man, and he shows his weaknesses in nearly every chapter of this book. I don't think he's very fair to his wife when it comes to big decisions, but she sticks by him anyway. So there must be something redeeming about him, although you wouldn't really see it from this book unless it's the dedication to his parents. But then again we generally don't always paint positive pictures of ourselves and since he wrote this, it shouldn't be surprising that he isn't the greatest person ever. His parents, I have to say I couldn't have handled their religious fervor. They didn't have boundaries from what Grogan described. We only get a few glimpses at his siblings, and I think it would have been interesting to hear more about their lives and how they differed or paralleled from Grogans.
This book is mainly about Grogan's relationship with his father and his stepping away from Catholicism. Now, I don't know much about Catholicism despite having gone to a Catholic school for a year (and threatening to purposely flunk out if my parents sent me a second year) but my thoughts really do mirror what Grogan thinks about the religion. He definitely takes a step back and looks hard at some of the beliefs of the faith and whether or not they fit into his life. But to please his parents, he does still practice a lot of the religion when it comes to baptism and other things for his kids. And the whole second half of the book is dedicated to that and the time he spends with his father while he's sick. I actually enjoyed the first half of the book better as we hear about Grogan's exploits as a child. It was interesting and engaging but then we get to his adult life and it was boring. It drug on and on and was very repetitive. Yes, it is a memoir, but like with any life, some things are more interesting than others. I should note that there is cussing, sexual fantasies, and other things in this book that might surprise someone just thinking it's about a man's journey through his faith. It's not squeaky clean.
This is an ok book. Grogan's writing is eloquent and he does have a sense of humor. But I think it would have been better if he had just stuck to his childhood.
The Longest Trip Home
Copyright 2008
334 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2013
More of my reviews can be found at www.ifithaswords.blogspot.com
cricketlou's review against another edition
4.0
Having not read his first book, I was unsure exactly what to expect from this book. I absolutely loved it! Perhaps it helped that John Grogan grew up in the area immediately surrounding where my family and I now live and so I have a familiarity to the places he was describing. Or perhaps it was that I was raised Catholic and attended parochial school. Whatever the case, I found myself enraptured by this memoir and enchanted by Grogan's writing style. I loved his use of metaphor in so many areas of this book. I can't wait until Book Club on Wednesday night to see how everyone else liked it.