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Marley & Me is about the life and times of the author and his family with their crazy but lovable dog, Marley. Summary Of The Book Jenny and John Grogan were in the early days of marital bliss, and were having dreams of raising a family. But, the only problem they were facing was Jenny’s doubts about their ability to take care of a baby. She asks John how they could trust themselves with a baby, if they cannot take care of a plant? She wants to test their nurturing skills on something. As they both had experiences with dogs and because they had grown up with the ‘perfect dogs’ when they were children, they decided to buy one. Inspired by these golden memories, they decide to try out their parenting skills on the dog and see if they could succeed in looking after it without killing it. They decide on a labrador retriever as the breed has a reputation for being trainable and easy to maintain. They choose a small golden fur ball, and name him Marley. And, so begins the tale of Marley & Me. It soon becomes apparent that Marley is not the dog they thought he would be. He is a goofy puppy, and his craziness seems to grow as he grows into his golden paws. He is a big dog, and has a strong, long tail that seems to have a life of its own as its eager wagging knocks down babies and scatters objects that are within its exuberant wagging reach. Marley seems convinced that life is to be enjoyed to the fullest and is puzzled by rules. He wrecks the Grogan home and also upsets their social life with his exuberance. Marley is sent to obedience school, but he flunks it and is kicked out. As the years pass, he does mellow down, but he does not lose all his eccentricities. And with time, the Grogans realize that though they may have a crazy dog for a pet, he is still loving and loyal, devoted to his family, extending his love to each new member as the Grogan family slowly grows. Marley & Me recounts life with Marley with humor and love as the Grogans first try to control and calm down Marley and then, eventually, come to accept the dog as he is. About John Grogan John Grogan is an American journalist and author. Other books by Grogan are The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir, Marley: A Dog Like No Other, Bad Dogs Have More Fun: Selected Writings on Family, Animals, and Life from The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Bad Dog, Marley! His books are based on his own life experiences and on his newspaper columns. John Grogan was born in 1957. He started his career in journalism as a reporter for newspapers in Michigan and Florida. He later became a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer. A collection of his articles in The Philadelphia Inquirer column was also published titled Bad Dogs Have More Fun.