In 2004, the literary world was introduced to an incorrigible yellow Lab named Marley, who captured the hearts of animal lovers across America and made John Grogan’s “Marley & Me” a fixture on the best-seller’s list for nearly two years.

Grogan returns to tell the rest of his story with “The Longest Trip Home,” in which Marley barely makes a cameo. So fear not that this is a repackaging of the stories that were told in “Marley & Me,” and every other iteration of the literary cottage industry it has become: children’s books, first readers, books for tweens, and a soonto-be-released major motion picture.

With “The Longest Trip Home,” Grogan opens up about his early home life, and how it shaped him through adulthood, and into a best-selling author, faithful husband and father of three.

A major theme in this book is Grogan’s conflicted life, as it relates to his faith and familial responsibilities. Born to parents whom he describes at one point as “medieval Catholics” for their strict interpretation of all things Catholic, Grogan details the struggles of growing up in the 1960s, always fearful of disappointing his piously Catholic parents.

As any good coming of age story does, “The Longest Trip Home” chronicles many of Grogan’s adventures with the childhood gang: Tommy, Rock and Sack. The fearsome foursome were notorious in their suburban Detroit neighborhood for causing mischief, as adolescent boys are prone to do.

They smoked, cursed, dabbled in marijuana, stole girlie magazines and fireworks, and even cornered the market on serving as altar boys at the local parish, so that they alone could enjoy the leftover wine in the decanters after Mass.

With every adventure of boyhood came the accompanying Catholic guilt, and the rush to formulate a plausible story, which Grogan hoped his strict parents would accept, or at least believe enough of, to assign blame to one of the other neighborhood boys. He knew how to work his parents, who often wore blinders and chose not to believe their son was capable of such things.

And when they didn’t buy it, there was the George-and-Suzie stick, a doubly named paddle used for corporal punishment: the “George” side for the Grogan brothers, and the “Suzie” side for sister Marijo. All it took was the mere mention of “getting together” with George or Suzie when they got home for the Grogan children to straighten up.

But as Grogan aged, he became more cynical about his strict Catholic upbringing, skipping Mass and keeping secrets from his parents, for fear of disappointing them. He used his penchant for cynicism writing for the high school newspaper. A showdown between the high school principal and the school paper over censorship inspired Grogan to create an underground newspaper, and put Grogan on the path to a successful career in journalism.

Adulthood saw Grogan moving from one newspaper job to the next, all the while portraying the good Catholic boy his parents raised, yet secretly falling into the jaded, nonpracticing lifestyle where many raised and schooled in Catholic environments find themselves.

The second half of Grogan’s memoir details the aftermath of bursting his parents’ bubble of blissful ignorance. At age 30, when Grogan moves in with his Protestant girlfriend, Jenny, who later would become his wife, it sets off a new round of familial and Catholic guilt, but at much higher stakes. No longer was his facade safe, no longer was there any question about him slipping away from his faith.

His struggle for adult autonomy, while trying to sustain a meaningful relationship with his devout parents is explored extensively in the second half of his memoir.

The Grogans maintain their civility by tip-toeing around the questions of faith: if he will ever return to Mass; his marriage to a Protestant woman; the baptism of his children and expectations that they be raised and taught to embrace their Catholic heritage. But both sides know that it is an uncomfortable compromise, where neither side can feel secure enough to just be themselves around the other.

As the elder Grogans reach their 80s, and their health begins to falter, it is then that Grogan must consider what his relationship with his parents has become. With a mother battling dementia, and his father battling two forms of cancer, Grogan finds himself in a position where he must make peace with his staunchly Catholic parents before it is too late.

The latter chapters of the book are touching and inspiring, as Grogan writes of the relationship between himself and his father. It is a son’s loving tribute to his father, an ode to his exemplary character, and the saintly devotion he showed to his faith and family.

Readers of “Marley & Me” will undoubtedly be interested in learning more about the author of the widely popular book. Some may identify with Grogan’s cynical view of the Catholic Church, while others may be ruffled or nod in agreement at everything his parents say.

But the battle of faith aside, “The Longest Trip Home” is an enjoyable story of growth and family, from an incredibly gifted writer. Grogan makes the transitions between childhood, adolescence and adulthood masterfully, weaving the threads of his life in a way that is both relatable and interesting to readers.

It is a brisk narrative that doesn’t shy from the discord of Grogan’s family life, and how he found himself there. Nor is it difficult to learn from the lessons of his trip home, to gain acceptance, to learn tolerance, and to make peace with his parents’ unfulfilled expectations.

Dave Valenzuela is The News’ library director.

The Longest Trip Home

By John Grogan

William Morrow

334 pages, $25.95