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John Grogan | Coming home - and moving on
By John Grogan
Inquirer Columnist
And now, a personal note.
Like that soldier stepping off the plane into another life, I'm stepping out of one role and into another. Today is my last as an Inquirer staff columnist. I am hanging up column writing to concentrate full time on book projects.
Publisher Brian Tierney and my editors want you to know that I was not a casualty of layoffs or cutbacks or any other fate. The decision was mine alone.
Those of you who have been following the last 15 months of my life, in the wake of the surprise success of my book Marley & Me, know I've been trying to juggle essentially two full-time jobs, travel and a family, not always very well. The bottom line: I am spread too thin.
There is another reason, albeit a secondary one: I love newspapers, especially this one. I believe in their value and future. But I don't know if I have the fortitude to stomach the dramatic cutbacks they are being forced to make in order to survive.
That's not to say I won't try to drop in occasionally with a guest commentary. I also invite you to visit my blog at marleyandme.com.
A writer without readers is not quite whole. You, Inquirer readers, have blessed me with the kind of audience every columnist covets: smart, opinionated, engaged. Right from the start, when I arrived here in 2002, you made me feel welcome. Many of you have come to be my friends.
Thank you for inviting me into your homes, your lives and, on the best days, your hearts. It has been an honor.
The entire column is here:
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/16602374.htm
