Customer Reviews

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

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I too, live in Akron Ohio and my husband and I are working on our 1928 home, so when we saw this book in our local bookstore it was irresistable!

We gulped the book down the same night - first me, then my husband (he started it at about 2am and finished it the next day), finding it wonderfully well-written, humorous and poignant (near the end).

His adventures in house restoration were far more extreme than what we've had to tackle but we could totally relate to his desire to return a once-beautiful structure to its former glory. Akron indeed has some very special neighborhoods with really wonderful, full-of-character yet affordable homes (including spectacular Tudor mansions like David's). They've all changed hands numerous times over the years and many have suffered from neglect and/or really unfortunate decorating decisions, but their bones are marvelous and they are really worth the effort to renovate and restore.

Intertwined with the very humorous saga-of-the-house, though, is his personal struggle with parenthood, ego, obsession and his attempts to balance work, an overwhelming renovation project and his fears that he was neglecting his family through his efforts to provide for it.

It made for an absorbing, at times hilarious and also touching read.

I don't want to recommend it only to people who are working on their houses (or have in the past) but I have to say that if you are or ever have, you will really relate to this book. The sheer hard work, the choices you struggle with, the level of perfection you settle on, the sense of accomplishment and the feeling that you'll never be finished - all are addressed here. Also, the attraction of old, beautifully built homes that seem to embody a kind of romance not available in modern houses. Anyone who looks for "character" in their dwelling will enjoy this book.

"All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House" is the true story of Akron resident and Beacon Journal writer David Giffels' attempt to restore an old house to its original beauty.

When Giffels' wife finds out she's expecting Baby No. 2, they go hunting for a larger home and find a big, run-down old mansion in Akron. Giffels admits that he loves restoring and reconstruction projects, but this fixer-upper needs an awesome amount of work. He is driven by a challenge, a "wholly impractical, mostly secret yearning to find peace through chaos," and he has just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

He gives us terrifying descriptions of the state of the house -- including smells so vivid that I needed some fresh air: "The ceiling drooped heavily and dripped with cobwebs and flaking paint and strange extensions that looked like stalactites made of dirt. The thick plaster on the walls was reduced to piles of horsehair-infused sand on the floor and the walls were stained and restained with rust streaks and calcified blotches where the leaky steam lines and water pipes had left their mark. The walls seemed poisonous. The whole basement smelled of something that had been soaked and dried and soaked and dried until its scent had texture in three dimensions: one old, one new, and one fermenting." Oh, dear Lord. There is so much wrong with the house, I'm amazed he didn't turn his back on it in the beginning: there's no running water; the roof, windows -- 733 panes of glass -- and drainpipes are compromised; the flooring and walls are warped and filled with holes; not to mention that raccoons and other critters have been or still are in residence.

But he's filled with an image of the house's former glory, and he's tantalized by the idea of "a life of butler's buttons and summer bedrooms" in a mansion a mile from Stan Hywet Hall. As we live through the renovations with the nice, self-effacing guy and his gentle wife and son, we see how all the work affects their lives, and he says that "as much as I was trying to change this house, it was changing me more."

This absolutely lovely book is an intimate, funny, heart-warming and heart-breaking memoir, with occasional commentary from Gina, the usually patient wife. This is so well written; it's a keeper.

I'm not someone inclined to enjoy a "home improvement book", but Giffels' ALL THE WAY HOME is much, much more than that. Not only is the story in itself interesting, and the family and personal dynamics artfully explored, but this book is simply written in beautiful prose that is often funny, touching, and always engaging. Highly recommended!

Wow, I LOVED this book! Admittedly, I am a junkie when it comes to books about the joys and pains of home improvement, and this one is the best I've read so far! The story is an interesting one and the subject is my favorite, but what really makes "All the Way Home" stand out is his eloquent writing - the clarity and humor he uses in describing feelings and events is engaging, absolutely beautiful and made me eager for the next page like a crack addict about to make his next score. I don't think I have ever (literally) laughed out loud so many times while reading a book. At the same time, it was thoughtful, relatable and real. Loved it, loved it, loved it... I want to be friends with the author David and his wife Gina - and I want to visit their home! In fact, the only thing I felt was lacking in this book were more pictures of the house, the starring character of the story. A terrific read for anyone who's ever loved an old house (or hated squirrels!).

In all seriousness, this is a fantastic book. It is funny without being obvious or simple; sincere without being overly sentimental; insightful yet entertaining.

ALL THE WAY HOME follows the Giffels family on their quest to save an old rundown house from the wrecking ball. But it's also about a lot of other things: learning what makes a house a home, the careful balance of relationships, and the sudden realization you have, at some point in your life, that you are now an "Adult."

When you read this book, you'll find yourself sharing anecdotes and stories with your friends. In fact, I'd challenge you to read it and keep it to yourself. Impossible. It's that kind of good.

I was captured from the first page. David snags the reader in his world from the get-go, and the story unfolds like a mystery that held my attention until the end. He tells not just a story about the recovery of a house, but the building of a family. He honors the past, present and future of the families that lived in his house, as well his own family and that of his wife Gina.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves preserving history, but also anyone who loves family. It's not sappy at all, but a deeply emotional journey of a man who is capable of attempting to evict wild animals with an electric guitar and an amplifier.

My dad and my grandfather were men like David and his dad, and reading this story was both a joy and a sorrow. Dad and Grandpa are gone now, and I can imagine them reading this book together. I wish I could share my favorite parts with them.

Very well done!

The last decade has seen a decided boom in general interest in the ins and outs of home renovations. The increased ease of getting a mortgage seemed to dovetail with the explosive popularity of the myriad of makeover shows on cable TV's HGTV. The lure of major home renovation was no longer the obscure domain of PBS-viewing This Old House aficionados. To a certain degree, the book world has followed along, creating a mini subgenre of home reno-memoirs. Books revolving around the trials and tribulations and emotional strains of renovating old homes have taken readers to exotic locales like Italy (Under the Tuscan Sun) and Morocco (The Caliph's House), and less glamorous ones such as Maine (Renovations), and now, Akron, Ohio.

Back in 1996, local newspaper columnist Giffels and his wife faced the prospect of a second child arriving into an already snug house in a marginal neighborhood. So they set about looking for more spacious house in a more child-friendly part of town. They are eventually drawn to a decrepit turn-of-the-century Tudor mansion (with servant quarters, a billiards room, etc.) that's sort of for sale by an ancient crone. Various complications ensue, but the house is eventually theirs, and they are faced with a property which will likely cost more to properly repair than it did to purchase. (Note: Readers like me, who live in major cities, will have to get their heads around the sums involved, since the selling price wouldn't get you an efficiency in a decent neighborhood in many cities.)

The meat of the book is Giffels' humorous and thoughtful recounting of the main initial restoration (for, as his father wryly notes, the renovation work will continue until Giffels sell the house or dies!). As one expects from this type of book problems ensure, surprises occur (some good, some not), and humorous anecdotes abound (I particularly liked the hair metal band who worked as drywall contractors and the Rod Stewart-lookalike electrician). Interwoven with this is a touching (but not sappy) reflection on how his obsession -- some might say addiction -- to the renovation strains his relationship with his wife and child. Unlike the one other book of this ilk I've read, Giffels is honest about his own hubris in both taking on such a house and about his own stubbornness in pursuing the path of most resistance.

In the end, you don't have to be particularly interested in home renovations to enjoy the book. Giffels does a very nice job of bringing the reader along on his muddled attempt to create a home for his family, and that sense of family is the true heart of the book.

I live in Akron as well,and have enjoyed reading David in the Akron Beacon Journal over the years,so I was prepared to enjoy this book too, however, I was completely blown away. I finished this great read in a couple of days, stealing every minute to get in another page. This is one that is very difficult to put down. This story has found it's way into most of my conversations since I began reading it. I truly loved the feeling of pride in our city, and really like his take on the blimp. As anyone who has grown up hearing the blimp, there is no other sound like it, and it was fun to read someone who understands that joy. This wonderfully funny, sincere, honest book is one I will recommend for years to come.

This terrific book is about building a life while saving a house that's worth saving. Along with the colorful characters the author and his family encounter along the way, Giffels and the people he writes about come to feel like people you know and want to know. More than that, the book's larger subject is about salvation of place that some might not think worth saving. By not trying to be fashionable, the book becomes wise. This is NOT just a book about flipping a house; it's a book about living a rich, meaningful life. Get and read your copy NOW.

I passed the house the other day, the house described so eloquently in Giffels' thoughtful story about a man and his quest to make a permanent home for his young family. The house is a magnificent structure among lesser architectural feats. Like the house, Giffels' story satisfies where others of a similar content fall short. Giffels' story is not just a great expression of "coming of age;" rather, Giffels writes about the struggles surrounding the difficult transition a man often faces in life--youthful idealism to overwhelming adult responsibilities. Giffels must realize his need to include a wife and child with each pounding of the hammer. As a man comes of age, so does a house.