Measures the Distance between Faith and Doubt
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I guess I didn't pay enough attention to the book's description. I assumed that there had to be more dog stories in this book. After all, Marley & Me was quite good.
Based on this book, most people would agree that Mr. Grogan writes about dogs and families better than he does about his own family. I hope he will go back to dogs and families as a subject.
For most of this book, I felt like I was reading the story of my college roommate who fell away from his family's Catholic faith and caused lots of heartbreak. I looked in vain for some view in this book that my roommate hadn't expressed . . . and didn't find any.
Then, The Longest Trip Home returned to its roots in exploring the spiritual and emotional space between Mr. Grogan's very devout parents and his "I know what God must think" philosophy. The book hits its highs in that area.
Strong faith in Jesus is something that's hard to understand . . . unless you have it. Isn't it interesting that both great faith and no faith can exist among parents and their children? Mysterious are His ways.
I was very touched to read about the faith and strong piety of Mr. Grogan's parents. I wish I had met them. It was heart-warming and enjoyable to learn more about how they lived their lives.
I was also interested to understand Mr. Grogan's perspective. Why doesn't he believe after a solid religious foundation in the home, at church, and in school?
What could be the counter to such great faith as expressed by his parents? I don't agree with the views he expresses in the book and was surprised that he thought they were worth explaining. It seemed more like he psychologically needs to define himself in terms of not being like everyone else. As evidence of that point of view, you can see stirrings of his faith developing since his father died.
I also hope that he will find faith. May God bless Mr. Grogan in that search.
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