The Brat Pack Becomes a Book Club

Andrew McCarthy, now a distinguished travel writer as well as an alumnus of Brat Pack movies like Pretty in Pink, has a new book called The Longest Way Home: One Man’s Quest for the Courage to Settle Down, the story of his journey from a restless traveler who could not make a commitment to his girlfriend of four years to a devoted husband and father.  Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, says “McCarthy ponders some of the biggest and most frightening questions surrounding intimacy: How does a loner connect? How does a traveler settle down? How do we merge into families without losing ourselves? The answer seems to be that all these things are impossible…and yet somehow we do it anyway. There is much to be learned, and much to be admired, in this elegant, thoughtful story.”  His article about a camping trip with his son that required some chocolate bribes is featured in the current Parade Magazine.

McCarthy joins his “Pretty in Pink” co-star, Molly Ringwald, whose collection, When It Happens to You: A Novel in Stories, has received excellent reviews.  Her recent appearance at The Moth, telling a story about her daughter’s difficulties in school, is available on iTunes.