One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down - The Longest Way Home

As a parent of a child with high functioning autism (aka, Asperger's syndrome), I'm struck by passages in McCarthy's book that seem to be lifted out of descriptions of life written by people with HFA. I would never diagnose someone (I certainly don't have the credentials), but I wonder if the personal insight in this book, plus the feeling of being isolated from others all his life, doesn't suggest to others the possibility that there are many different factors at play here, possibly including Asperger's syndrome. McCarthy's impatience in dealing with others, his comfort in his own solitude, his lack of understanding of his own needs and feelings all seem very similar to descriptions of people with this disorder.
I'm suggesting this not to label or criticize, but in the hopes it might bring self-awareness to anyone who has these feelings and does not understand them. People with HFA are much more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, so any understanding that can be brought to bear regarding their neurological condition should be considered.
Besides this very distracting idea, which I find striking me throughout the book during passages where McCarthy wonders at his own indecisiveness and waffling emotional needs, the book is an interesting travel journal and journey of the heart.

The Longest Way Home was an interesting book. The travel stories were fantastic and bought about in me a secret travel bug. The author however was on a soul searching journey and sometimes the writing was confusing. The way he felt when travelling seemed quite conflicted and made it difficult to read. However, the way he describes travel was truly inspirational. I enjoyed it but found it heavy going.

I always enjoy Andrew McCarthy's work and I really liked the travel sequences in this book but the "poor-me" sections were boring after a while. One felt like telling the man to "get a grip!" It was a relief to have a happy ending after all the soul-searching.

The author is an excellent writer, bringing the magic of exotic places to the reader. However, all I got from this book was the author's need to distance himself from the life that required day to day attention to responsibilities and commitments. For this, I got angry with the author. The travel was an excuse to get away from responsibilities that he, himself created and, in fact, pursued. When life in New York overwhelmed him he left in the night without good byes because these were difficult. What? I thought travel was his job???? Instead I found myself wondering about D. I wondered why she stayed through these episodes of 'self-reflection down the the store.' My heart broke for her when I read passages of D's details for planning a wedding while the author took the reader inside his head and showed us how he processed the information into finding a way to distance himself from her. As he writes in the beginning, he will never be able to take care of D. I am afraid I have to agree. If the author thought that he was putting only his emotional/ psychological self out for the world to read about, he was wrong. He made D more vulnerable to pity from the readers. The 'happy ending' is difficult to accept.

Did I miss the point of this book? Probably I did. While the travel aspect was spectacular and the reason I bought the book, I could not get past the author's willingness to self-search at the expense of the personal relationships he left at home.

I love reading about travel. Blogs, books, magazines, amateur or professional it does not matter. This book was awful. The travel writing was a joke. I never once felt the places he described. His personal story was nothing but him whining on and on about himself and his life for way too long. There didn't seem to be any direction in the book and the chapters could have easily been rearranged and no one would have known. This book was given high reviews in a magazine I read and now I no longer trust book reviews out of magazines. How 58 people gave this 5 stars I will never know. Maybe he provided a computer station at his wedding for everyone he knows to leave a good review.

Writer attempts and desperately interweaves his then personal quest to settle down while travelling. Horrible idea. As this was supposedly marketed as a travel book, IT IS NOT. It's more his decision planning process while in different parts of the world. And do we care if settles down? No. Does he do justice in describing the places he is is visiting: NO. He laments the time being away but does not create any empathy at all. In the process, the gorgeous places get forgotten because his writing is so predictable : bicker with the partner as a predeparture rite, meet and eat with the local (then attempt to call the partner), bitch about the place (and the wedding prep) and then he goes back. Meeh.

This book was not only outright boring, but it was morally offensive. First, what is this book supposed to be? If it is supposed to be a travel book, then Author failed in all accounts. His writing is so bad that you do not get to visualize the locations or characters in your head. Second, the content of the book is morally offensive: Author has a child in his first marriage when he supposedly feels suffocated in that marriage. He meets a woman (his current wife) while being married and pursues that woman. He moves in with that woman and has a child with that woman. And, he tells us that he has a problem with commitment (or problem settling down), and that he has an urge to go away to find himself. Instead of devoting every second of his time to the welfare of his children, he decides to go away to write a "travel book." What!!!? Are you kidding me? Grow up! There are so many great books out there that are worth your money and time. Do not waste any of your resources on this.

Actor/director Andrew McCarthy may be universally acknowledged as a member of the Brat Pack for roles in such films as Pretty in Pink and St. Elmo's Fire, but it's his second, less mainstream career as a travel writer that takes the helm of his new memoir, The Longest Way Home: One Man's Quest for the Courage to Settle Down. At the book's beginning Andrew and his fiancé, affectionately referred to as D, have finally embarked on the decision to marry after years of courtship. For the solitary, commitment-claustrophobic Andrew this is the sort of gigantic leap that requires a great deal of confidence, and perhaps an even greater deal of anticipatory panic. Having used travel all his life as a means to escape into an anonymous sort of blissful freedom, he embarks on and recounts several journeys that ultimately lead him to his biggest confrontation: his wedding day.

While he occasionally features an anecdote or two from his movie star days - the Brat Pack, he reveals, was never as close-knit of a group as society perpetuated - it's his life as a traveler that takes the spotlight in his memoir. A single comrade on one of his voyages expresses that Andrew's face looks familiar, but otherwise there's no Hollywood glamour to be had, and the book is all the more enriched by its absence. What results is something much more human, much more relatable: the story of a man with fears and the woman, the family, and the destinations who push him out of his comfort zone and into his ultimate happiness. His reflections on his own struggles in life - from the grasping anxiety of turbulence on a plane to the more philosophical issues he's loathe to confront - make for an especially engaging commentary, and result in an emotional evolution that leaves the reader self-aware and inspired. I could genuinely feel his determination grow throughout the book, his understanding of himself becoming more and more vivid. It was truly a journey of personal growth.

Andrew's travels in The Longest Way Home take him from New York to Patagonia, the the store, Costa Rica, Vienna, Baltimore, Kilimanjaro, and finally to Dublin where his wedding day lingers in wait. A very prominent focus in his thoughts as he travels (usually alone) to each destination is his fiancé, the fiery and spontaneous D. In writing about her Andrew paints a picture of warmth and wit, introducing the reader to her quite personally - a charming endeavor that makes the documentation of their wedding day all the lovelier. Throughout the book it's as if he's explaining to the reader, "This is why I had to go out there and find my courage: I *have* to marry this woman." And in his efforts the reader cheers him on while experiencing beautifully written glimpses into the tremendous wonders of the world - from the vastness of Patagonia to the strength of Kilimanjaro - and coming to understand just what it is about traveling that can actually change a man for the better, and finally make him long to come home. A very entertaining, modestly celebratory, and deeply personal book for the traveler in all of us.

(Review © Casee Marie, originally published on September 18, 2012 at LiteraryInklings.com. I received a copy of the book for the purpose of review.)

A most wonderful book written with exquisite detail by a man searching for his way in the world, a place he has never felt comfortable in but for a few times, prior to writing this, while traveling. During those times, the burden he carries seemed to lift and he felt what to him was normal. He reveals much about himself, family life, years of acting at a young age, his innermost feelings which he shares giving the reader a sense of trust in his words.

While reading one travels with him, almost literally, to exotic places, dines in fine restaurants, climbs Kilimanjaro. He is fearless but cautious. We learn from his every step.

This book is NOT a difficult read nor should the author be criticized for anything within it's pages. He has the gift that I wish I had, to write and to write exceedingly well. Travel for him is now no longer a quest for the courage to settle down. It is about his zest to explore this world alone and writing about it. He then feels fulfulled and returns to his family. Both are his safe places. He does not love one more than the other.

Who of our generation hasn't heard of Andrew McCarthy? His early movies and Brat Pack reputation marked him as one of the actors that I'd followed in my teens (Pretty in Pink, Taps, St. Elmo's Fire, and Less Than Zero). He'd represented an uncertain, sensitive, slightly lost youth. I read his memoir The Longest Way Home largely because I wanted to know more about the actor in his youth.

Andrew McCarthy's writing is clear, vivid, and well crafted. His book is part travelogue and part memoir as he explains his difficulty committing to the mother of his daughter and the woman that he loves. As he talks about the places that he visits, he shares the role that travel and writing has played in his life - both in finding himself and helping him interact with the people he cares about. We are taken to Patagonia, the the store, the Osa, Vienna, Baltimore, Kilimanjaro, and Dublin.

While The Longest Way Home does give us better insight into Andrew McCarthy, even as a longtime fan of sorts I wasn't invested in learning or delving into his issues. I think for someone looking for travel writing and with a deep fondness for Andrew McCarthy, the book will prove a satisfying read. Personally, I had a hard time finishing it.

Kudos to Andrew McCarthy, a very public figure, for having the balls to write an honest memoir about his struggles in fully committing to his marriage. Being an actor will cause readers to pigeonhole an author; yet he didn't succumb to trying to look good, he was simple, honest and vulnerable. This was 'dude-lit' at its best because, whether we agreed with his actions or not, he stated them as they were. I suspect the guys out there will thank him for that. Nice job.

I didn't totally connect with his physical descriptors, so when I came to a section when he was literally describing a scene I found myself wanting to push ahead. Besides this I found his writing refreshingly simple and straight up. An entertaining and contemplative read for all.

Actor/director/writer Andrew McCarthy takes his reader on a journey that covers the earth from the familiarity of Baltimore to the exotic local of Mt. Kilimanjaro to the spirited Dublin and several places in between. He also asks questions that most people confront during their lives from issues related to commitment, maturity, and the insecurities and feelings of self-doubt.
The premise of this journey is spurred by McCarthy's decision to marry a lovely woman only identified as D. He faces the anxieties that come with a major life change and launches on a solo journey to a lot of interesting places in an attempt to confront his personal problems. In the process he observes not only the places he visits but the people he meets. The resulting book is a combination of vivid travel adventure tempered with serious introspection as McCarthy approaches one of life's biggest changes.
Curiously, McCarthy's celebrity sloughs off like a snake's skin. From the beginning of this book it is very easy to forget that a celebrity is the author of this book. There are virtually no references to celebrity. This book might have been written by Johnny Jones because it has a universality about it. It is on some level personal and private, but in an understandable way because of its very basic human appeal.
The writing is engaging as is the content. This is a wonderful story that is asbreathtaking as it is honest.

Read the first chapter last night, and I absolutely love his writing style. He's an easy conversationalist. And well written, sprinkled with intellect. I read some of the reviews commenting on the travel piece of this book...but in my opinion, this is more of an introspective memoir. Not meant to focus on the actual locations of his travel, but how his travel helped influence him. I've been a fan of Andrew McCarthy since the 80s (& have even seen him lately on the Hallmark Channel movies)...but reading his books have impressed me more. He's a thinker, and I appreciate reading his thoughts.

Usually if you realize you're being selfish, you stop doing it, or one might think. Andrew McCarthy writes about his travels and his struggle to commit to a woman he's clearly in love with in this travel memoir/psychological examination of self. That he already lives with her and has a child with her is interesing -- that's about as committed as many people get -- but Andrew grapples with if he can or should change what he wants out of life even as what he has becomes what he wants before he knows it. My favorite passage describes him realizing he's feeling quite put out to have to buy food in preparation for his child and her mother and his future in-laws (though he doesn't know that then) after he's spent the day doing whatever the hell he wants. I would think he was a jerk if he weren't so completely aware of his actions and honestly trying to change them -- perhaps I'm a jerk for thinking he was a jerk and not trying harder to understand his inability to naturally fall into caretaking once children and a partner arrive. By the end of the book, I was actually sort of proud of Andrew, a total stranger to me, and quite amused by how invested I got in his personal growth. Add to that descriptions of very cool travel adventures and excellent writing -- I picked this book up randomly because I'm always interested to see artists who can cross over from one medium to another, and I'm so glad I did. -- Rita Arens, author of contemporary YA novel THE OBVIOUS GAME (InkSpell Publishing, 2013) ]

The longest way home is fantastic! It is a thought providing work with wonderful travel segments interwoven with Andrew McCarthys internal struggle and life journey. There are many times that one can identify with McCarthy while he travels on his deply personal journey. I found the book to be very moving and inspiring without being remotely self indulgent. The sense of remove and isolation that McCarthy portrays diminishes over the course of his journey with a fitting conclusion on Kilimanjaro. The warmth and love that emanates from a family trip to Vienna reaches out to the reader and covers you like a warm blanket. Patagonia, the the store, the OSA etc have all come alive for me having read this book. The personal and travel are beautifully enmeshed and of course the recurring theme of journey excites the reader as you want the writer to succeed in his quest for commitment and happiness.

A touching and heartfelt memoir about a man figuring himself out, love, and lots of travel. Each chapter is a different spot in the world. Andrew McCarthy has an simple way with words that makes it easy to imagine yourself climbing a mountain or boating in the jungle. His honesty about people he meets, as well as his own positives/negatives is refreshing. Highly recommend!

I began this book expecting an autobiography told through travel. Instead you get 9 parts travel to 1 part life story; and the life story you get focuses on his fear of commitment to those who are significant in his life. If he cannot be definitive about his family, just how committed do you think he is to his vicarious travel companions?

The beauty of great travel writing is the excitement the writer brings to the parts of the world they are visiting. Ian Wright is my idea of the perfect travel host. The reader becomes a travel companion, forging a relationship with the writer to see what they see, to experience what they experience. McCarthy makes it abundantly clear he is a loner when it comes to travel, directly avoiding interaction with those who are present, and indirectly shunning you the reader. It is really hard to be a companion to a travel writer who does not want you there interrupting his experience.

The thread of the book is McCarthy's journey as a commitment-phobe as he rapidly travels around the globe seeking answers prior to getting married for the second time. Mostly you just want to shout at him to get over himself, but that would be an ungenerous reading of his struggles. His life is very different from mine and through his travels he is able to process his thoughts, cumulating in his marriage, both physically and mentally. The loner becomes two.

Most interesting to me is this exploration of McCarthy's second act. A movie actor since he was a teenager, he managed to find something in life he was passionate about and through dogged determination he has managed to create a small career in travel writing. Much more than a vanity project, McCarthy has found a new life in which to express himself. The artist within will always find its way out. As they say, do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.

Made it about half way through before throwing in the towel. Rambling, disjointed travel journal where it seems the author goes out of his way to enunciate some long-winded Argentinian town name only to bounce back, unannounced, to his frustrating relationship with his fiancée. His reflections of Argentina just aren't that interesting nor is his relationship with "D." Great actor, not so great story teller.

Everyone remembers Andrew McCarthy, right? THE 80′s heartthrob we all got to know from such movies as Pretty in Pink, St. Elmo's Fire and one of the silliest, yet most entertaining movies ever...Mannequin.

I've always like his work. He has an easy way about him and a likable face. What I didn't know, is that in addition to acting and directing, he's also added travel writer to his list of accomplishments. As an editor-at-large for National Geographic Traveler, You'd think I would have noticed his writing since I've read the magazine for years, but maybe I just didn't realize it was the same guy. Needless to say, when this book came up for review, I jumped at the chance to read it.

McCarthy's inability to commit to his long time partner, known as "D" in the book is what sends him into a tailspin. The wedding date has been set, but the details as far as when & where cause him anxiety that can only be controlled by hitting the road. So, that is what he does. He climbs Kilimanjaro, spends some time in Costa Rica, Patagonia and Spain and all the while, D is waiting at home, touching base with him when she can.

As much as I adore McCarthy, I was frustrated with his tendency to flee every time decisions needed to be made. It's a classic case of cold feet but the book promises a "quest" and to me, that means that at some point, you put the hiking boots away and come back as a complete person. I'm not sure that happened here. He does a lot of soul-searching, but I don't feel that he understood himself any better at the end of this adventure, than he did at the beginning.

As for the adventure, McCarthy is kind of a loner so there aren't too many meaningful interactions with the people he encounters. It's mostly him, and what he was thinking at the time. The armchair traveler in me wanted more description, more humor and some meaningful moments so when those were few and far between, I'd gaze at the cover and then watch Pretty in Pink.

As a Brat Pack fan, my favorite parts of the book had to do with his movie career and how he came to play such iconic roles. These parts are interspersed throughout the book and then of course he touches on alcoholism and how it nearly got the best of him. Even here though, he only skims the surface.

Overall, I'd have to say that if his intent was to dig deep, he wasn't successful. He only took things so far, and then just sort of gave in to them. BUT, for some reason, I still enjoyed the book. It was refreshing for a man to discuss his weakness and I appreciated the honesty in his writing.

Who knew Blaine from Pretty in Pink had this much depth? In this searingly open memoir, Andrew McCarthy of Brat Pack fame shares his internal struggles to a depth that's rare among women, much less men. McCarthy quickly draws us into his challenge of finding a way to stay with the woman he loves and commit to marriage when he's been a loner so long he's never learned how to be "with" someone. As he and his fiancee decide to get married, his immediate impulse is to flee into his travel writing. As a solitary person myself, I related to his desires to withdraw and be alone, and enjoyed reading of how his travels to the edges of the globe showed him the importance of connecting with his family. I hate description and as a result cannot read travel writing, but this one was different, with the external landscapes suffused with the internal landscape McCarthy was traversing. I was in awe of his opennness in discussing his pain, without getting maudlin or self-pitying about anything. A truly memorable book.

Andrew McCarthy, angst-ridden star of the Molly Ringwald eye roll fest "Sixteen Candles" and other 1980's teen dramas, has evidently moved on with life. Although his go round with drugs and alcohol did not grace the covers of the tabloids as did many of his contemporaries, he discreetly got over himself, and has taken on a second career as an editor for National Geographic Traveller.

Although Mr. McCarthy apparently had little use for education, he writes with extreme clarity, seems deeply connected with his inner workings, and has a story, (many, actually) to tell.

Most of what he writes involves his travels, a passion that was gained honestly by just wanting to get away. Mr. McCarthy extols the virtues of traveling solo, an evocation I can corroborate.

But his journey, ironically, is about growing up. And the irony is that he is laid bare on the screen frozen at ages nineteen through twenty four for all the world to see. It is about manhood, and accepting relationships and working at bettering them, and ultimately, the Daddy of responsibility in parenthood.

Mr. McCarthy has a gift, and his gift to the reader is his power of expression. And while the book is an intimate look at his inner life, sometimes, for me to see something in that degree of intimacy, I need to look away.

Andrew McCarthy, angst-ridden star of the Molly Ringwald eye roll fest "Sixteen Candles" and other 1980's teen dramas, has evidently moved on with life. Although his go round with drugs and alcohol did not grace the covers of the tabloids as did many of his contemporaries, he discreetly got over himself, and has taken on a second career as an editor for National Geographic Traveller.

Although Mr. McCarthy apparently had little use for education, he writes with extreme clarity, seems deeply connected with his inner workings, and has a story, (many, actually) to tell.

Most of what he writes involves his travels, a passion that was gained honestly by just wanting to get away. Mr. McCarthy extols the virtues of traveling solo, an evocation I can corroborate.

But his journey, ironically, is about growing up. And the irony is that he is laid bare on the screen frozen at ages nineteen through twenty four for all the world to see. It is about manhood, and accepting relationships and working at bettering them, and ultimately, the Daddy of responsibility in parenthood.

Mr. McCarthy has a gift, and his gift to the reader is his power of expression. And while the book is an intimate look at his inner life, sometimes, for me to see something in that degree of intimacy, I need to look away.

To read Andrew McCarthy's "The Longest Way Home" is to have the rare opportunity to truly inhabit another person's thoughts. In the book, he describes the peace and comfort he feels in being alone, but also how this inclination towards solitude can serve as a defense mechanism as well. His descriptions of his travels leading to his wedding -- to the the store, the Osa, Vienna, and Kilimanjaro-- are beautifully written and demonstrate his extraordinary gift for capturing time and place. I was most captivated about how these remote trips fostered his inner realizations that he wants to be fully present with D, that he misses his father and even, that his is enriched and excited by his interactions with fellow travelers. Andrew McCarthy has a real gift for dialogue and I really got a sense of his loved ones through their spoken words. His descriptions of the lovely D and her warm and vivacious family show the reader that by taking the chance and opening up to others, one gains so much. I found "The Longest Way Home" to be an insightful, smart and honest book from a very talented writer.

One of my favorite reads. Very real, honest, brave and vulnerable in the most guarded way. I go through life that way myself and the writer more than helped me. His turning point when he saw a lone traveler with no one to go back to. I hope to reach that turning point myself. Thank you!

Andrew McCarthy, actor, director and travel writer has written a memoir concentrating on his inability to come to terms with settling down and being married (a second time) and maybe being a more responsible man. Although, I did enjoy the eighties films he was in; it was the title of this book that really intrigued me. I wasn't sure what I would find but enjoyed the stories of his travels around the globe describing in detail places I know I will never travel to. He touches a bit on his acting and his quick rise to fame; his drinking problem; his need for solitude and his dysfunctional relationship with his family. I felt as I was reading this book, it was a journal for the author to come to terms with not only becoming a husband (although they have been together for a long time) but also terms with his life of uncertainly. It shows that he is as human as the rest of us.

McCarthy is, in my opinion, a horrible writer. He jumps from one scene to another with little connection and fails to give adequate description to scenes or people. There is no character development beyond his own, and maybe "D" who never gets a name, kind of like a Dostoevsky novel. I found the book disjointed, and found the chapters disjointed, and even the paragraphs disjointed. He dwells on problems like lack of cheese on pizza and a bad microphone at a church in Costa Rica without describing the scene which would have been exotic and interesting to the average foreign traveler. But not McCarthy. Maybe this is his pathetic attempt at humor. And then he loves describing the woman he meets, how beautiful they are, and how they hit on him. Andrew thinks of himself as a loner, a stud, a James Deanesque brooder who believes traveling will open him up to love and feelings. Maybe it does to some extent. But that doesn't make a writer or a book.

This is not a travel book. It's about McCarthy and his inability to stop thinking about himself. We hear about his lonely childhood, his distant father and uncles, his moving to a new location and all this seems important to him somehow, but it isn't very interesting reading. Then, in the last chapter, we get to read all about how he has to scramble to get all the documents necessary for his wedding at the last minute and get his son with a broken arm to Ireland for the wedding. Who cares? If he was attempting humor, ala a Bill Bryson travel book, it failed. You can't mix bleeding heart whinning about your sad lonely life and then throw in badly written attempt at humor.

The book might qualify as a basis for a daytime soap opera or a bad movie, but I'll skip those.

I loved Andrew McCarthy's travel memoir so much that the pages seemed to turn themselves. Unable to put it down, I found myself finished... His globe-trekking adventures are an intriguing window to the world, and his honesty about love and relationships is deeply inspiring!

I really, really disliked this book from so many points of view. In fact, it made me downright angry. Andrew McCarthy has divorced his first wife, and his son is being shuffled back and forth between households, constantly sad and unhappy, and Andrew McCarthy cannot understand why, despite his lack of reliable presence in his child's life. Meanwhile, his current partner/fiancee, who is the mother of his daughter, is "jealous" of his ability to get away: yes, get away from life's responsibilities of caring for the ones you love and being present for them, while meanwhile she is stuck taking over those chores and responsibilities from which he flees, on a near-constant basis. Oh, but he misses her and she misses him soooo much... yet he continues to flee-and-return, flee-and-return; and she continues to put up with it. (She is convinced by him that he must get this travel out of his system before he can fully commit to marriage, and I guess she will do whatever it takes). While Mr. McCarthy does get to go to some very amazing and exotic places, his descriptions are pretentious and maudlin or worse, downright boring. I don't get a feel for the places he visits, since it seems that the only thing the author wishes the reader to know his how Mr. McCarthy is feeling at any given moment (hint: conquering fear and being alone are the two biggies, ad nauseum). The end result is a man who refuses to grow up, but not in a whimsical sort of way; rather he is narcissistic and patronizing and oh, so completely selfish. To his long-suffering and ever-accommodating now-spouse, I would hope the next time Mr. McCarthy feels "trapped" by real life, she will kiss him goodbye and then run far, far away. She deserves better. And the readers deserve better than to subsidize his tiresome whining and travels. Sheesh!

Found to be a vacuous, self-serving story about someone unwilling to confront responsibilty. A few good travel insights, difficult however, to plod through the self analysis and private life better left to a therapists office.

Beloved actor,writer,and family man,Andrew McCarthy provides his enlightened fans
with an extraordinary and deeply personal account of his storied life as an actor
and traveling journalist.
While Andrew`s colorful and insightful details of his global adventures will most
certainly appeal to his readers,it is his personal struggles with commitment that
will reach in and capture your heart.In his personal search in finding himself,
Andrew discovers a very important fact of life that applies to each of us,we may
venture the globe to parts unknown,but the reality is that home is where the heart
is......
I highly recommend this beautiful book to everyone.It is among the finest stories
I`ve yet to enjoy.
Thank you,Andrew,for sharing your life story with us.I am an even greater fan of
you,now.To properly quote fellow brat-packer,Rob Lowe,in St.Elmo`s Fire...
"DON`T GO CHANGIN` TO PLEASE ME!"

Jeffrey Bryan White Oak,North Carolina