John Grogan '79

John is most famous for his book “Marley & Me”, written about his dog, Marley. 

While attending CMU, John worked for CMLife.  Right after graduation, he was hired as a police reporter for a small paper in St. Joseph, Michigan.  It was here that he met his wife, Jenny, who was also a reporter. 

In 1985, he won a fellowship at Ohio State University and earned his master’s degree.  He them won a second fellowship in Florida.  He then took a job in Florida and Jenny soon followed.  He and Jenny married and soon after brought home a Labrador retriever who would be the inspiration for his international best-seller. 

The next stop was Pennsylvania to become editor of Rodale’s Organic Gardening magazine.  After three years, he realized he missed daily newspapers and moved back into the columnist role which he kept for four years, then retiring to write full-time. 

During his time as a columnist, he wrote Marley & Me, which was made into a movie in 2008.  He has published “The Longest Trip Home” a story about his life and continues to author children’s books about the beloved Marley.  He is also an adjunct professor at Lehigh University, teaching a writing class.