{"product_id":"9781439104576","title":"Coast to Coast: A Family Romance","description":"Nora 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 The \u003ci\u003eGrapes 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. Coast to Coast is Nora's account of a childhood spent shuttling between Manhattan and Hollywood. What emerges is a marvelous portrait of American life in the 1940's and 1950's -- 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. Coast to Coast 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":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47142614892784,"sku":"9781439104576","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781439104576_p0.jpg?v=1763756746","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781439104576","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}