John Grogan facts for kids

John Joseph Grogan (born March 20, 1957) is an American journalist and non-fiction writer. He is best known for his book Marley & Me (2005). This book is a true story about his family's lovable but wild dog, Marley. It became a huge bestseller and was even made into a movie.

Early Life and First Stories

John Grogan was born in Detroit, Michigan, on March 20, 1957. He was the youngest of four children in a Catholic family with Irish roots. His father, Richard, was an engineer and a Navy veteran. His mother, Ruth Marie, was a stay-at-home mom.

Soon after John was born, his family moved to Orchard Lake Village, Michigan. This area later became the setting for his book, The Longest Trip Home. John says his mother loved telling stories, and this passion for storytelling rubbed off on him.

By eighth grade, around 1970-1971, John was already writing funny stories. He even wrote humorous pieces about the nuns at his school, Our Lady of Refuge. He later transferred to West Bloomfield High School, where he graduated in 1975. In high school, he wrote for the school newspaper and even started his own underground paper.

John went to Central Michigan University. He studied Journalism and English and wrote for the school newspaper, CM-Life.

Becoming a Journalist and Author

After college, John Grogan started his career as a police reporter in St. Joseph, Michigan, in 1979. He later received a special fellowship to study journalism at Ohio State University, where he earned a master's degree in 1986. He also attended the Poynter Institute of Media Studies.

After his studies, he worked as a reporter for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. He eventually became a columnist there. In 1999, he became the managing editor of Organic Gardening magazine. Then, in 2002, he joined The Philadelphia Inquirer as a columnist. The Inquirer even published a collection of his best articles in 2007, called Bad Dogs Have More Fun.

John's journalism career lasted over 20 years. He won several awards, including the National Press Club's Consumer Journalism Award. In 2007, he started working full-time on his book, The Longest Trip Home. This book, released in 2008, is a memoir about his relationship with his family. It explores the strong love within a family, even when children and parents have different ideas.

Since 2012, John has also taught writing at Lehigh University. He teaches a course about writing true stories from your own life.

Marley & Me: The Story of a Special Dog

In 2003, John Grogan's dog, Marley, passed away at 13 years old. John wrote a column in The Philadelphia Inquirer to honor him. He received over 800 messages from readers who loved the story. This amazing response made John realize he had a bigger story to tell about Marley. He felt he "owed it to Marley" to share the full story.

John began writing Marley & Me in 2004. The book is told from his point of view. Marley was a yellow Labrador retriever. He was very energetic, a bit wild, and often caused trouble by destroying things. But he was also very loyal and loving, and his family always forgave him.

Marley & Me was released in 2005 and became a huge international bestseller. It sold over five million copies and was translated into more than 30 languages. The book stayed on the bestseller list for 76 weeks, and for 23 of those weeks, it was the #1 book! It won Quill Awards in 2006 for both the audiobook and memoir categories. The book was later made into a movie, which came out on December 25, 2008. Owen Wilson played John Grogan in the film.

The success of Marley & Me also led to several children's books. These include Bad Dog, Marley, A Very Marley Christmas, and Marley Goes to School.

John Grogan's Life Today

John Grogan met his wife, Jenny Vogt, when they both worked as reporters at the Herald-Palladium. They got married on September 2, 1989.

When he worked at the Sun-Sentinel, John played bass guitar in a rock band called The DropHeds. The band was made up of amateur musicians from different newsrooms.

Today, John lives in Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, in an old farm home built in 1790. He lives with his wife and their two Labrador retrievers, Louie and Wallace. After Marley passed away, they adopted another dog named Gracie, who sadly died in 2012. They later adopted Woodson, one of the dogs who played Marley in the movie. Woodson passed away in 2020. John Grogan continues to write full-time.