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lovelymisanthrope's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is one of my husband's books and I wanted to read it before I added it to my bookshelves.
"The Longest Way Home" is a memoir written by Andrew McCarthy. As a young man, Andrew acquired a thirst for travel. He was able to create a life for himself that allowed him to make a living by writing about the things he witnessed as he got to explore the world. After he proposed to his second wife and the wedding planning really took off, Andrew began to question his life's choices. So, he took a myriad of jobs that took him all over the world so he could find himself before he tied the knot.
I did not know 100% what this book was about before I picked it up, but I was pleasantly surprised to read Andrew's story the week before my own wedding. I loved this idea that you need to know yourself well before you get married. Marriage is a joining of two people, and I think in any relationship it is critical to maintain your own identity. Andrew's first marriage fell apart, and he loved his new fiancé so much that he did not want the same thing to happen. He was worried that he did not know himself well enough to be the husband she deserved, so he traveled.
This book is additionally rich with stories of what Andrew saw as he traveled the world. There are some terrifying stories of dangerous encounters, and there are heart-warming stories about witnessing humanity. But what everything had in common was that every journey Andrew went on, led him back home to the life he so proudly built for himself and the family he created with his loving partner.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys seeing the world, or who feels lost and are trying to find their way back to themselves.
"The Longest Way Home" is a memoir written by Andrew McCarthy. As a young man, Andrew acquired a thirst for travel. He was able to create a life for himself that allowed him to make a living by writing about the things he witnessed as he got to explore the world. After he proposed to his second wife and the wedding planning really took off, Andrew began to question his life's choices. So, he took a myriad of jobs that took him all over the world so he could find himself before he tied the knot.
I did not know 100% what this book was about before I picked it up, but I was pleasantly surprised to read Andrew's story the week before my own wedding. I loved this idea that you need to know yourself well before you get married. Marriage is a joining of two people, and I think in any relationship it is critical to maintain your own identity. Andrew's first marriage fell apart, and he loved his new fiancé so much that he did not want the same thing to happen. He was worried that he did not know himself well enough to be the husband she deserved, so he traveled.
This book is additionally rich with stories of what Andrew saw as he traveled the world. There are some terrifying stories of dangerous encounters, and there are heart-warming stories about witnessing humanity. But what everything had in common was that every journey Andrew went on, led him back home to the life he so proudly built for himself and the family he created with his loving partner.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys seeing the world, or who feels lost and are trying to find their way back to themselves.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Death of parent
kellyroberson's review
4.0
Solid. Choppy start but then I got into it. He’s gotten to be a better writer - Brat is excellent but this is quite good.
_alexry's review
5.0
leaves me wanting to try more solo travel. to find more of myself. and also to settle into a deep intimacy with others.
abstract_amber77's review
3.0
I was first drawn to this book because of an article/interview I read in a travel magazine. In the interview it was revealed that McCarthy would be doing a book tour, and making a stop in the city I live. I went to see him talk about his book and answer questions from the audience, both about his travels and his acting career, and everything he had to say really resonated with me.
About a month later I picked up the book. I read a couple of chapters, but decided I would rather listen to it on the audiobook. It was nice to listen to McCarthy tell his own tale, and I really appreciated him telling personal anecdotes of his life and how his travels brought about a certain self-awareness. However, there were times the stories of his travels dragged and my mind would wonder off. Overall I enjoyed the journey, just not all the details.
About a month later I picked up the book. I read a couple of chapters, but decided I would rather listen to it on the audiobook. It was nice to listen to McCarthy tell his own tale, and I really appreciated him telling personal anecdotes of his life and how his travels brought about a certain self-awareness. However, there were times the stories of his travels dragged and my mind would wonder off. Overall I enjoyed the journey, just not all the details.
serene216's review
3.0
I have seen readers on here recommend this book to people who like the book "Eat, Pray Love" I would agree with those reviewers.
I enjoyed the fact that Andrew was very honest about where he has been (rehab, his failed first marriage, estrangement w/his father) and how he found himself wanting to do travel documenteries for National Geographic. I really enjoyed reading about his travels to foreign countries though towards the end it felt like there was almost too much storyline that would have been left out (filler). While I found the book to be interesting it wasn't one where I could read it all in one sitting (not able to put it down). However it was one of the better memoirs I have read. He didn't boast about his life or conquests (as opposed to other memoirs I have read like Mackenzie Phillips, Jodie Sweetin and Melissa Gilbert). Instead his struggles made him more relatable to me. All in all I am glad I read this book. I have always been an Andrew McCarthy fan and reading this book only helped me have more respect for him.
I enjoyed the fact that Andrew was very honest about where he has been (rehab, his failed first marriage, estrangement w/his father) and how he found himself wanting to do travel documenteries for National Geographic. I really enjoyed reading about his travels to foreign countries though towards the end it felt like there was almost too much storyline that would have been left out (filler). While I found the book to be interesting it wasn't one where I could read it all in one sitting (not able to put it down). However it was one of the better memoirs I have read. He didn't boast about his life or conquests (as opposed to other memoirs I have read like Mackenzie Phillips, Jodie Sweetin and Melissa Gilbert). Instead his struggles made him more relatable to me. All in all I am glad I read this book. I have always been an Andrew McCarthy fan and reading this book only helped me have more respect for him.
julia212's review
4.0
I first heard about this book through Alec Baldwin's podcast "Here's the thing". He interviewed McCarthy, who came across as an interesting and inspirational man, who I wanted to know more about. This book not only takes you on journeys to places you might not know (Patagonia), or even places you know very well (my hometown of Vienna) and tells you about them through anecdotes and insights through McCarthy's personal encounters with different kinds of people, but it also tells you about the writer himself. That's what is special about this book. Andrew McCarthy's travel adventures are deeply connected with himself as a human being. He is constantly confronting himself with new surroundings, but first and foremost with himself as a human being. I could relate to him very well, saw character traits in him that I knew from myself. An introvert who is able to challenge himself, to get out of the shell when need be. It is a book about personal insights as well as experiencing nature. Human and nature mirror each other as one faces the other under different circumstances. Nature pressures the human to confront himself with his deepest fears and his inner self. McCarthy doesn't shy away, but stands up for his insecurities and weaknesses and ultimately that is what makes him strong.
robinsbooks's review
4.0
It would be easy to dismiss this as a self-indulgent travel memoir by a former "brat-packer" actor became an award winning travel writer, but this was surprisingly well done.
I found the travels interesting and his musings of his fear of commitment to be honest (there is much angst about getting hitched again and being a better husband than he was to his first wife).
I highly recommend this to those who liked Nicholas Sparks's THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER and even EAT, PRAY, LOVE, although I liked this better than EPL.
I found the travels interesting and his musings of his fear of commitment to be honest (there is much angst about getting hitched again and being a better husband than he was to his first wife).
I highly recommend this to those who liked Nicholas Sparks's THREE WEEKS WITH MY BROTHER and even EAT, PRAY, LOVE, although I liked this better than EPL.
bethreadsandnaps's review
3.0
I had expected this to read more like a memoir, but it was a combination of travel & philosophy book. That's exactly what the title portrays the book to be, so it's my own fault for expecting something different.
I wish the author had a better grasp of time; he jumps back and forth in time talking about different trips he's taken in his life, and I'd prefer that he mention a year so I can have some vague mental timeline. He's also against giving his second wife a written name longer than D or show her face. However, her first name (Dolores) is posted on Wikipedia as well as her picture. So he tries to be mysterious for mystery's sake.
As far as the writing, it is decent. A few of the trips (chapters) are interesting; I found the Kilamanjaro trip compelling. Some of the others: not so much. But, again, I wasn't reading it because I wanted to read a travel book (again, my own fault).
I wish the author had a better grasp of time; he jumps back and forth in time talking about different trips he's taken in his life, and I'd prefer that he mention a year so I can have some vague mental timeline. He's also against giving his second wife a written name longer than D or show her face. However, her first name (Dolores) is posted on Wikipedia as well as her picture. So he tries to be mysterious for mystery's sake.
As far as the writing, it is decent. A few of the trips (chapters) are interesting; I found the Kilamanjaro trip compelling. Some of the others: not so much. But, again, I wasn't reading it because I wanted to read a travel book (again, my own fault).
trixie_reads's review
4.0
I enjoyed this just as much as McCarthy's fellow brat-packer Rob Lowe's memoir, though it was vastly different. He barely touched on his acting career, which was refreshing, and instead focuses on his career as a travel writer and his personal foibles as a dad and reluctant husband-to-be.