book
pick
A dog’s life
Signed book
giveaway
Jenny got a cute golden Labrador retriever One day Patrick was enjoying his wind-up
puppy and named him Marley, after reggae swing in the living room while Marley, now
singer Bob Marley. They soon realized their almost 100 pounds, lay on the floor playfully
baby with the heart-melting eyes snapping at the child’s swinging
was a house-destroying maniac. behind, goosing him into giggles.
Story chronicles years with
a family’s best friend
By Gloria Blakely
A YOUNG JOHN GROGAN and new wife surprisingly like nirvana to Marley.
JOHN GROGAN
The newlyweds’ lives were Grandma screamed for help, but
never the same. It was all Marley she need not have worried; it
most of the time. They patched was just a diaper fetish. Marley
or replaced the carnage left by the wouldn’t dream of hurting his
canine tornado—and then leaned “new best friend.”
on him when personal disasters The journal Grogan had
struck. Grogan details it all— kept for years began to fill with
including Marley’s death from stories about Marley’s unbridled
illness at the age of 13—in his curiosity and irrepressible delight
first book, Marley & Me: Life and in each passing moment. Ably
COSTCO HAS 10 autographed copies of John
Grogan’s Marley & Me
to give away.
To enter, print your
name, membership
number, address and
daytime phone number
on a postcard or letter
and send it to: Marley &
Me, The Costco Connection, P.O. Box
34088, Seattle, WA 98124-1088; or
fax it to (425) 313-6718.
No purchase is necessary.
Entries must be received or postmarked by midnight, March 1, 2006.
Void where prohibited. Employees
of Costco and their families are not
eligible. Winners will be notified by
mail. One entry per household.
Love with the World’s Worst Dog. John Grogan drawing from these raw, timely
Send your feedback
on this month’s book to:
discussionquestions@costco.com
A flippant yet poignant, with Marley musings, Grogan invites readers not try to portray him as Rin Tin Tin or some-comic yet engrossing writing into the mind of a dog so outra- thing, but give an honest portrayal of this dog
style depicts 360 degrees of Marley, the geous and yet so adorable it is hard to put that was so hyperactive and hard to control,
mountain of energy who was expelled from Marley & Me down. gave us a lot of joy and happiness, and just
obedience school and the quiet, loyal friend This book was not the first time Grogan, an brought humor into our life and our home.”
who rarely left Jenny’s side when she was award-winning newspaper writer, had regaled That memorial column, published in the
ordered to take 12 weeks of bed rest while readers with Marley’s antics. Philadelphia Inquirer, garnered significantpub-pregnant with the family’s second son, Conor. “I had written columns in the past about lic reaction. Roughly 800 people responded,
Marley was the child the Grogans were this woefully misbehaving dog that just could compared to the 50 to 100 responses Grogan
unsure they could handle, but he quickly not be trained and had all these bad qualities. I usually called a good day.
convinced them a true infant would be a trotted him out at his expense to make people The full impact of Marley on his family—
breeze in comparison. They gave it a try, and laugh,” Grogan explains to The Connection. craziness, joy and life lessons—resonated with
their firstborn, Patrick, was the result. “After he died I was very moved by the death of readers. “That’s when I knew I had a bigger story
Grogan tells how, per expert advice, he this animal, almost to the point of being to tell. Within a couple weeks of that I started
acclimated Marley to the baby’s scent: He embarrassed about how grief-stricken I felt. writing the book,” says Grogan.
shuttled between the hospital and home “I really felt I wanted to set the record Book writing wasexhausting,nottomen-
with blankets and a used diaper that smelled straight and tell the whole story about this dog, tion daunting. Says Grogan, “When I wrote
about this I said up front I’ve got to really tell
the whole story, including things about mis-
carriage and postpartum depression and all
those things that were part of our life and part
of this whole fabric of us as a family.”
Pepnnıiec’s k
Pennie Clark Ianniciello
Costco Book Buyer
PEOPLE TOO READILY want to classify themselves
and others as dog people or cat people. I have two
flat-coated retrievers, Pepper Girl and Serena, but
I like to think of myself as an animal person. And
I know that anyone who loves animals will love
this month’s pick, John Grogan’s Marley & Me.
His stories of “the world’s worst dog” will
have readers saying, “You call that bad? My dog
[or cat or parrot or hedgehog or … ] has done
worse. Much worse.”
FRANCE FREEMAN
But no matter how ill-behaved Marley is,
Grogan also captures the unconditional love
and devotion that only pets can offer. This book
is a must for any animal lover. However, consider
yourself warned: You will need a tissue or two.
Marley & Me is available in most Costco
warehouses. C
Nine months later Marley & Me rested in
his agent’s hands. This universal story from
publisher William Morrow has emerged a New
York Times bestseller. “It was really a dream for
me,” Grogan admits. Though he remains a man
in love with newspaper work, he feels “a book
allows me to reach people and touch people in
a way that you can’t do in a 700-word column.”
He thinks both genres lie in his future:
Another memoir, one about his father and
him, is already under way. C
Gloria Blakely is a freelance writer living
in Philadelphia. She has authored or
contributed to seven biographical books.
