All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House

With the lyrics of a Replacements song running through his head ("Look me in the eye, then tell me that I'm satisfied"), David Giffels--with his wife and infant son in tow--combs the environs of Akron, Ohio, in search of the perfect house for his burgeoning family.

The quest ends at the front door of a beautiful but decaying Gilded Age mansion, the once-grand former residence of a rubber industry executive. It lacks functional plumbing and electricity, leaks rain like a cartoon shack, and is infested with all manner of wildlife. But for a young father at a coming-of-age crossroads, the challenge is precisely the allure.

All the Way Home is Giffels's funny, poignant, and confounding journey through the great adventure of restoring a crumbling house on the way to discovering what the words "grown up" and "home" really mean.

Author: David Giffels
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Published: 06/23/2009
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.56lbs
Size: 7.98h x 5.34w x 0.78d
ISBN: 9780061362873

About the Author
Giffels, David: -

David Giffels is an assistant professor of English at the University of Akron, where he teaches creative nonfiction. Formerly an award-winning columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal and a contributing commentator on NPR, his writing has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and many other publications. He lives in Akron, Ohio, with his wife and two children.