Little wonder that many readers show up at Grogan's bookstore appearances with their own dogs in tow.Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog Marley, he writes, 'taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.' Marley was trouble, but he also was the best dog in the world, and one that left a lasting legacy. Hundreds of fans have posted stories and photos of their beloved pets on his website, .Īnd many bookstores have hosted special events that include local chapters of the Humane Society, the ASPCA and Labrador retriever clubs. 'It was the bigger story, the story of our family, the dog, the growth and the gradual melding of all these disparate units into one cohesive thing called a family.' 'I don't consider myself one of these nutty dog people who writes these saccharine things about animals,' says Grogan, 48, who lives near Emmaus, Pa., with his wife and their children, Patrick, 13, Connor, 12, and Colleen, 8. It was then that Grogan decided to fulfill a dream he'd had for years: to write a book about Marley. Reader response included condolences from more than 800 dog lovers. 'All the humor and laughter, and in a bigger sense, some of the lessons about love and loyalty that we actually took from this big, dumb, loopy dog.' 'I wanted to write a column about how woefully bad he was in some respects, but also about the great joy he brought our family,' he says. And after Marley's death in December 2003, Grogan, a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, wrote a tribute to his beloved pet. Like dog owners everywhere, they marveled at the trouble Marley could get into, especially the things he could eat: stereo speakers, dirty diapers, couch cushions, drywall, shoes, towels, even a home pregnancy test strip.Īs the years passed, Marley's antics became the stuff of legend in the family. In 1991, Grogan and his wife, Jenny, adopted a Labrador retriever puppy and named him Marley after the reggae music star. It really was one of those stories told from the heart.' 'I had zero strategy about how this would play in the marketplace. No one is more surprised by all the attention than Grogan. Word of mouth and glowing reviews have propelled the sentimental memoir onto the best-seller lists since its publication in mid-October with 550,000 copies in print. It's definitely the dog lover's book of the year. His Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog (William Morrow, $21.95) may very well be the feel-good book of the year. There's a reason that tissue packets are sometimes handed out at author John Grogan's book signings.

Marley and me author