The Longest Way Home

Reviews / Votes

"Soulful and searching . . . McCarthy's prose shines with intelligence and intimacy . . . A long, strange trip on the direction of full-throttle love." -- Cheryl Strayed * New York Times Book Review * "A candid, touching, and often humorous new memoir." * The San Francisco Chronicle * "Combining the best aspects of Paul Theroux's misanthropy in books like Old Patagonian Express and Elizabeth Gilbert's emotions in Eat, Pray, Love, this book is hard to put down. Bound to be popular, this compelling and honest chronicle will not disappoint readers." * Library Journal * "Andrew McCarthy treks from Baltimore to the Amazon, exploring his commitment issues as fearlessly as he scales Mount Kilimanjaro." * Elle * "Brave and moving...McCarthy's keen sense of scene and storytelling ignites his accounts...[t]hreaded with an exemplary vulnerability and propelled by a candid exploration of his own life's frailties." * National Geographic * "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."-Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love "This is not some memoir written by an actor who fancies himself a world traveler. McCarthy really is a world traveler - and a damned fine writer, too...To readers who think, "Andrew McCarthy? Really?" the answer is a resounding and emphatic yes. Really." * Booklist * "Rarely have I seen the male psyche explored with such honesty and vulnerability. This is the story of a son, a father, a brother, a husband, a man who finds the courage not only to face himself, but to reveal himself, and, in so doing, illuminates something about what it is to be human, fully alive, and awake." --Dani Shapiro, Author of Devotion "It's hard to write books that are both adventurous and touching, but Andrew McCarthy manages to pull it off and more! A smart, valuable book." --Gary Shteyngart, bestselling author of Super Sad True Love Story and Absurdistan "Where lesser writers might reach for hyperbole and Roget to describe such exotic lands as Patagonia, Kilimanjaro and Baltimore, in The Longest Way Home, McCarthy leans on subtlety, a straightforward style and hard-won insights to allow his larger stories to unfold. It's not hard to imagine him as the solitary figure in the cafe, scribbling in a notebook by candlelight, making the lonely, tedious work of travel writing look romantic and easy."--Chuck Thompson, author of Better Off Without 'Em and Smile When You're Lying "As an actual voyage, McCarthy's globe-trotting tale is an evocative, highly entertaining read. But as an introspective and emotional journey, his story is unforgivingly honest, courageous, and hard to put down." --David Farley, author of An Irreverent Curiousity "McCarthy delivers a deeply revealing memoir about settling down, both with a woman and in his own skin. An unflinchingly honest examination of his life as an actor, son, brother, husband, and father, as well as his struggle with commit-ting to a woman in his life whom he plans to-and does, by the end of the book-marry in Dublin. Alcoholism, infidelity, the dark side of celebrity-McCarthy holds nothing back. ... he skillfully brings the locations and their characters to life. ...Like the best travel, accompanying McCarthy on his road toward self-awareness and the woman he loves is much more about the journey than the destination." * Gotham magazine * "A must-read for any dude finding his way." -- Askmen.com