Things You Get for Free is "an inspired book] about family, religion, love, and life" (The Boston Herald)--a traveloque rich with charm and wisdom and sparkling with its author's singular wit. As a pries, Michael McGirr decides to take his charming and inimitable mum on the honeymoon she and her late husband never got aroud to having. He uses his six-week vacation to take her on a tour of Europe. Between meditating on their hilarious and illuminating travels and on the historical figures who dot their voyage--everyone from Hemingway to Michelangelo to the quielty heroic people who inspire Michael's special brand of faith--McGirr plunges deep into his family history, unearthing sickness and instability but also moments of great love and perseverance. Things You Get for Free is a deeply moving spiritual and intellectual journey, proving the truth behind a mother's favourite saying. "I know more than you think I do."