{"product_id":"coast-to-coast-a-family-romance-paperback","title":"Coast to Coast: A Family Romance - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eNora Johnson was a young child when her parents' marriage collapsed. Her father, Nunnally Johnson, the writer, producer, or director of many acclaimed movies, such as \u003ci\u003eThe Grapes of Wrath\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Dirty Dozen, \u003c\/i\u003e remained in California, where he would continue to be a major Hollywood presence for more than three decades. Nora's mother, Marion, a beautiful but unsettled woman, took her to New York to start a new life -- one surrounded by her mother's lovers and eccentric literary friends instead of movie stars and studio heads. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eCoast to Coast\u003c\/i\u003e is Nora's account of a childhood spent shuttling between Manhattan and Hollywood. What emerges is a marvelous portrait of American life in the 1940s and 1950s -- from the movie lots of California to the cocktail parties of the Upper East Side -- and also a touching story of a shrewd, observant girl who would grow up far too fast. Nora shares the colorful details of a childhood spent in privilege, but also captures the painful loneliness of changing schools, four-day train trips from one coast to the other, and never being quite sure of where she belonged. She also brings to life her droll, charming, talented father -- a Thurberesque character in Hollywood -- and her beautiful and erratic mother, a woman who fled the Los Angeles movie colony life but was unable to forget the husband who took her there. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eCoast to Coast\u003c\/i\u003e is a wonderfully written portrait of a fascinating era and a child who came of age in it, who had everything she wanted -- except a place to call home.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":68291666837727,"sku":"9781416568094","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/LvtkeSs05u9781416568094.webp?v=1792867863","url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/products\/coast-to-coast-a-family-romance-paperback","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}