"Marley and me" author John Grogan speaks at Lehigh U

I love books, I read them and collect them. I have several of James Thurber's works, including "Thurber's dogs."
So it shouldn't surprise anyone that I made the trek late Thursday over to the auditorium in the Packer Lab to hear former Rodale editor, Inquirer Columnist, and present Coopersburg resident John Grogan speak on writing, among other subjects.

I was accompanied by my Editor, Ellen Roberts of Woodley Books, and another aspiring author like myself, Linda, whose last name I can neither pronounce or spell, so I'll leave it at that.

Mr Grogan had just returned from a book speaking tour in the British Isles, and was glad to be home. He did talk a great deal about his creative process in putting together "Marley and me", and how he came to realize that it was the book he was meant to write. He also also went on in great lengths to describe how it enabled him to write the follow up, "The Longest Trip Home" about growing up in a strict Catholic household. That is a topic many older Lehigh Valley residents, and I personally, can relate to.

The thing that I took away from his talk is how he used his dog Marley as a catalyst in carrying the story in his own life. He used Marley's evolution in their family to help measure his own, something I have done in my own writing at times, using my dog Fred in my journals, and in my novels.

Mr. Grogan described how he started writing his journal in high school at the urging of a teacher, and how he used that writing as a reference in writing his books. He made carbon copies of letters he wrote home throughout life, something I would never have thought to do. I was fortunate that my Dad saved all my letters home and returned them to me when I was discharged more than 20 years ago.

John Grogan did read a section from his second book, "The Longest Trip Home" that anyone with any kind of religious upbringing will find hilarious. It concerned a night he and his new wife spent at his parents home immediately after their wedding, and his retelling in the book is worth reading over and over. I haven't made it that far in the book yet, but now I look forward to it.

The hour was over much too quickly, and the line to get the book signed was far too long to wait, so we decided to head home. Maybe Someday I can trade him, a signed copy of my book for a signed copy of his! I can only hope!

Special Thanks to Kathy Frederick at the Junk Drawer for the parking info and directions, they were great!