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We Are All Welcome Here
Elizabeth Berg, bestselling author of The Art of Mending and The Year of Pleasures, has a rare talent for revealing her characters’ hearts and minds in a manner that makes us empathize completely. Her new novel, We Are All Welcome Here, features three women, each struggling against overwhelming odds for her own kind of freedom.
It is the summer of 1964. In Tupelo, Mississippi, the town of Elvis’s birth, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations occurring ever more frequently–and violently–across the state. But in Paige Dunn’s small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. Challenged by the effects of the polio she contracted during her last month of pregnancy, Paige is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter, Diana, in the way she sees fit–with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Peacie.
Diana is trying in her own fashion to live a normal life. As a fourteen-year-old, she wants to make money for clothes and magazines, to slough off the authority of her mother and Peacie, to figure out the puzzle that is boys, and to escape the oppressiveness she sees everywhere in her small town. What she can never escape, however, is the way her life is markedly different from others’. Nor can she escape her ongoing responsibility to assist in caring for her mother. Paige Dunn is attractive, charming, intelligent, and lively, but her needs are great–and relentless.
As the summer unfolds, hate and adversity will visit this modest home. Despite the difficulties thrust upon them, each of the women will find her own path to independence, understanding, and peace. And Diana’s mother, so mightily compromised, will end up giving her daughter an extraordinary gift few parents could match.
It is the summer of 1964. In Tupelo, Mississippi, the town of Elvis’s birth, tensions are mounting over civil-rights demonstrations occurring ever more frequently–and violently–across the state. But in Paige Dunn’s small, ramshackle house, there are more immediate concerns. Challenged by the effects of the polio she contracted during her last month of pregnancy, Paige is nonetheless determined to live as normal a life as possible and to raise her daughter, Diana, in the way she sees fit–with the support of her tough-talking black caregiver, Peacie.
Diana is trying in her own fashion to live a normal life. As a fourteen-year-old, she wants to make money for clothes and magazines, to slough off the authority of her mother and Peacie, to figure out the puzzle that is boys, and to escape the oppressiveness she sees everywhere in her small town. What she can never escape, however, is the way her life is markedly different from others’. Nor can she escape her ongoing responsibility to assist in caring for her mother. Paige Dunn is attractive, charming, intelligent, and lively, but her needs are great–and relentless.
As the summer unfolds, hate and adversity will visit this modest home. Despite the difficulties thrust upon them, each of the women will find her own path to independence, understanding, and peace. And Diana’s mother, so mightily compromised, will end up giving her daughter an extraordinary gift few parents could match.
187 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Elizabeth Berg
51 books4,779 followersElizabeth Berg is the author of many bestselling novels, including The Story of Arthur Truluv, Open House (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Talk Before Sleep, and The Year of Pleasures, as well as the short story collection The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year. She adapted The Pull of the Moon into a play that enjoyed sold-out performances in Chicago and Indianapolis. Berg’s work has been published in thirty countries, and three of her novels have been turned into television movies. She is the founder of Writing Matters, a quality reading series dedicated to serving author, audience, and community. She teaches one-day writing workshops and is a popular speaker at venues around the country. Some of her most popular Facebook postings have been collected in Make Someone Happy and Still Happy. She lives outside Chicago.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,121 reviews
April 17, 2016
In Flannery O'Connor's "A Circle in the Fire," Mrs. Pritchard tries to engage Mrs. Cope in a conversation about "that woman that had that baby in that iron lung"(The Complete Stories 175). She justifies her freakish interest in the unusual birth and in the deaths of both mother and baby by mentioning that she and the woman were related --"sixth or seventh cousin[s] by marriage"(175). Later in that conversation, which can more aptly be described as "parallel talking," Mrs. Pritchard delivers one of the many priceless lines that spring from the mouths of O'Connor's characters: "I know if I was in an iron lung there would be some things I wouldn't do"(178).
Mrs. Pritchard is no Paige Dunn. For Elizabeth Berg's Paige Dunn,who --in the ninth month of pregnancy -- was stricken by polio, there is no "if"; and there are no limits other than those imposed by a body that cannot move below the neck. She was supposed to die. She didn't. Diana, the daughter born to this woman in an iron lung, was supposed to die. She didn't. They're alive -- what then? Abandoned by her husband, Paige was told what ordinary people figured she was supposed to do -- allow her daughter to be adopted (as Paige herself had been). She didn't.
Dismiss We Are All Welcome Here as "chick lit" -- your loss. Label it a fairy tale or a parable. I wouldn't. It's fascinating, unsettling, uplifting, and more. It's not "The Little Engine That Could" or "Jack and the Beanstalk." It's powerful fiction that was inspired by the lives of the two women to whom the work is dedicated. The most important characters are courageous and vulnerable -- heroes with flaws that I certainly couldn't ignore. Their experiences confirm the truth that we are NOT all welcome here -- still. Most of the novel is set in the early 1960s, and anti-discrimination laws have obviously not yet created a "welcoming here" for those who are "different."
Lately, it seems as if books that I should read keep finding me at just the right time. As I struggle to deal with what I regret about my part in relationships with important people who have left this world, I happened to take We Are All Welcome Here off of my to-read shelf. Upon reaching the end of the novel [NO SPOILER AHEAD], I felt that there was nothing accidental in my having chosen to read this work, this month, this year. Surely I am only one of many thousands who have wept or will weep after they read / hear the final words of Berg's daughter-narrator because they, too, fervently hope(d) that somehow they will someday have the chance to tell their dead mothers:
"You were right -- much more often than I knew."
Five stars for We Are All Welcome Here. I'll forget giving too many stars. I'll regret giving too few.
Mrs. Pritchard is no Paige Dunn. For Elizabeth Berg's Paige Dunn,who --in the ninth month of pregnancy -- was stricken by polio, there is no "if"; and there are no limits other than those imposed by a body that cannot move below the neck. She was supposed to die. She didn't. Diana, the daughter born to this woman in an iron lung, was supposed to die. She didn't. They're alive -- what then? Abandoned by her husband, Paige was told what ordinary people figured she was supposed to do -- allow her daughter to be adopted (as Paige herself had been). She didn't.
Dismiss We Are All Welcome Here as "chick lit" -- your loss. Label it a fairy tale or a parable. I wouldn't. It's fascinating, unsettling, uplifting, and more. It's not "The Little Engine That Could" or "Jack and the Beanstalk." It's powerful fiction that was inspired by the lives of the two women to whom the work is dedicated. The most important characters are courageous and vulnerable -- heroes with flaws that I certainly couldn't ignore. Their experiences confirm the truth that we are NOT all welcome here -- still. Most of the novel is set in the early 1960s, and anti-discrimination laws have obviously not yet created a "welcoming here" for those who are "different."
Lately, it seems as if books that I should read keep finding me at just the right time. As I struggle to deal with what I regret about my part in relationships with important people who have left this world, I happened to take We Are All Welcome Here off of my to-read shelf. Upon reaching the end of the novel [NO SPOILER AHEAD], I felt that there was nothing accidental in my having chosen to read this work, this month, this year. Surely I am only one of many thousands who have wept or will weep after they read / hear the final words of Berg's daughter-narrator because they, too, fervently hope(d) that somehow they will someday have the chance to tell their dead mothers:
"You were right -- much more often than I knew."
Five stars for We Are All Welcome Here. I'll forget giving too many stars. I'll regret giving too few.
July 22, 2015
I haven't read an Elizabeth Berg book in a very long time. I had forgotten that I liked her writing style. She writes good characters. I enjoyed this quick read, and really liked the main character, Diana. She's a young girl whose Mom contracted polio when she was pregnant with her. The polio left her mother a quadriplegic, and she was determined to raise her daughter with the help of her black maid Peacie. It's a coming of age story set in the 1960s during the civil rights movement.
I would recommend this book if you're looking for a good, light, sweet story.
I would recommend this book if you're looking for a good, light, sweet story.
December 9, 2014
I wish I had the words to describe Elizabeth Berg's wonderful writing so that everyone would run out and read her. This is not chick-lit, it is more like relationship fiction. Her prose is so descriptive, warm and encompassing yet simple and true. I feel drawn into each character, their feelings, experiences and their relationships. Yet it is not dramatic over the top stuff. The characters are ordinary yet extraordinary.
I have read virtually all her novels but somehow missed this one. She was my favorite author for a long time. I would say up until about 2011, all her novels are exceptional. After that something is lacking for me unfortunately. I can not really compare her to any other author in terms of style - to me she is very unique. This story does have a bit of the feel of The Help - it touches on the civil rights issues of that era.
In this particular novel we have a young narrator again (about 13) as in the Katie Nash series. Berg is very adept at the coming of age perspective. The story also revolves around disability and the challenges of the caregivers. The story is sweet, touching, funny and heartwarming/wrenching.
I have read virtually all her novels but somehow missed this one. She was my favorite author for a long time. I would say up until about 2011, all her novels are exceptional. After that something is lacking for me unfortunately. I can not really compare her to any other author in terms of style - to me she is very unique. This story does have a bit of the feel of The Help - it touches on the civil rights issues of that era.
In this particular novel we have a young narrator again (about 13) as in the Katie Nash series. Berg is very adept at the coming of age perspective. The story also revolves around disability and the challenges of the caregivers. The story is sweet, touching, funny and heartwarming/wrenching.
February 24, 2016
I've read many of Elizabeth's Berg's books but this is truly one of her best. Such a beautiful story of a teenaged girl and her Mother who is paralyzed from the neck down from polio. Set in Tupelo Miss in 1964 EB weaves the struggles of that time into the novel effortlessly.
Based on the real life story of a fan who wrote to EB, she took that story and wrote a remarkable fictionalized account of the lives of Pat and Marianne Raming.
Loved every word of it and you will too.
Based on the real life story of a fan who wrote to EB, she took that story and wrote a remarkable fictionalized account of the lives of Pat and Marianne Raming.
Loved every word of it and you will too.
August 24, 2009
If she doesn't already, Elizabeth Berg should write movies for Lifetime (Television for Idiots). Her other two books I read/listened to starred a divorced woman and a widowed woman. This one stars a woman with polio who can only move her head. I moved mine to roll my eyes and sigh a lot.
Oh, brother, is this schmaltzy. It's narrated by her pre-teen daughter who she's raising in the 1950's with the help of (of course) a Sassy Black Lady, the ultimate insulting stereotype. Also, if you know your Greek drama terms, there is a real doozy of a deus ex machina in the end that made me laugh out loud. Two words, and that's all I'll say: Elvis Presley. Well, here's one more word: dumb.
Still, just like a Lifetime movie, there is a certain entertainment value, and you don't really have to think too hard, which is occasionally nice. I did like the narrator, but she and the book overall reminded me of a far inferior Secret Life of Bees. This is the sort of book that I will totally forget that I ever read.
Oh, brother, is this schmaltzy. It's narrated by her pre-teen daughter who she's raising in the 1950's with the help of (of course) a Sassy Black Lady, the ultimate insulting stereotype. Also, if you know your Greek drama terms, there is a real doozy of a deus ex machina in the end that made me laugh out loud. Two words, and that's all I'll say: Elvis Presley. Well, here's one more word: dumb.
Still, just like a Lifetime movie, there is a certain entertainment value, and you don't really have to think too hard, which is occasionally nice. I did like the narrator, but she and the book overall reminded me of a far inferior Secret Life of Bees. This is the sort of book that I will totally forget that I ever read.
December 28, 2017
3 stars
A quadriplegic woman, in an iron lung, is being cared for by her 14 yr old daughter and a part time housekeeper. Each of the three have an individual destiny they are trying to achieve.
That is the premise of the book. Berg, as she so often does, builds a compelling story around this premise. It is based on the true story of one of her fans, however changed to create its own story. Berg, in the fashion of Anne Tyler, Anita Shreve or Anna Quindlin, can take the everyday circumstances of life and develop then into a first class novel.
A quadriplegic woman, in an iron lung, is being cared for by her 14 yr old daughter and a part time housekeeper. Each of the three have an individual destiny they are trying to achieve.
That is the premise of the book. Berg, as she so often does, builds a compelling story around this premise. It is based on the true story of one of her fans, however changed to create its own story. Berg, in the fashion of Anne Tyler, Anita Shreve or Anna Quindlin, can take the everyday circumstances of life and develop then into a first class novel.
September 19, 2011
I listened to the audio book of this one a couple of years ago, which I highly recommend. It's read by the author, and she's quite a skilled dramatist. She really brings all the characters to life.
April 23, 2020
Энд хавтсан дээр нь номын хавчуургаа цааш нь тавь, чамд энэ хэрэггүй гэсэн байгаа. Би эхлээд нь энийг хүний хөгжлийн ном гэж бодсон гарчигаар нь. Гэтэл жирэмсэний сүүлийн сардаа саа туссан гэдгээ мэдэж, насан туршдаа зөвхөн толгойгоо л хөдөлгөж чадах ��эргэнцэртэй эмэгтэй( хөөрхөн эмэгтэй) , ээжийн тухай, охин Диана, асрагч Пийси гэх африк Америк эмэгтэй тэдний түүх болж таарсан.
Хэдхэн секунд бодоод үздээ. Чи зөвхөн толгойгоо л хөдөлгөж чаддаг бол амьдрал ямар байх вэ? Чи босч явж, өөрөө хоолоо идэж, гудамжаар алхаж, өөрөө бие засаж ч чадахгүй байх. Хүн амьдралд нь том гарз сургамж ирэх үед л жинхэнэ өөрийгөө олдог гэж гарсан. Гунигтай ч гэсэн энэ заримдаа үнэн байдаг биздээ. Жирийн хүн шиг алхаж, хувцсаа хэцэнд өлгөх, жирийн хүн шиг амьдрах ямар бол? Надад бай��аа юм зөвхөн миний дуу хоолой гэдэг. Энийгээ ч сайн ашигладаг, хайрлахад, хайрлуулахад, өөрийгөө илэрхийлэхэд, хэрэггүй нэгэнд нь хорон үгээ хэлэхэд.. Зохиолч руу энэ бодит явдлын эзэн охин нь захиа бичсэн байна. Би чамайг ийм зүйл хийдэг үгүйг мэдэхгүй, гэхдээ бидний түүхээр ном бичээсэй гэж хүсч байна. Бодит түүх, бодит саагаар өвдсөн эмэгтэй 20хэдэн насандаа гэрлэж, жирэмсэн болсон. Нөхөр нь саатай, бас энэ эмчлэгдэхгүй гэдгийг мэдээд хаясан. Охиноо өөрөө өсгөсөн. 3жил доорх зурганд байгаа шиг төмөр уушгиар амьсгалж байсан. Өдрийн, шөнийн асрагч хөлсөлж охинтойгоо амьдарч, охиноо өөрөө өсгөсөн байна. Ингээд байхаар чинь яаж ном уншихгүй байхын бээ? Солиотой, сонирхолтой, илэн далангүй, ичмээр сэдвийг ч энгийн дотно харуулсан, уншихгүй байхын аргагүй ном байлаа. ❤️
Одоо чамд мэдээж санаа зовох асуудал зөндөө байгаа, бүх юм бүтэхгүй байгаа юм шиг. Хангалттай мөнгөгүй, урдаа тавьсан зорилгоо ч биелүүлээгүЙ, үргэлж хангалттай биш гэхдээ л амьд бүр жинхэнэ утгаараа амьдарч байгаа, азтай гэдгээ мартсан биз?
Хэдхэн секунд бодоод үздээ. Чи зөвхөн толгойгоо л хөдөлгөж чаддаг бол амьдрал ямар байх вэ? Чи босч явж, өөрөө хоолоо идэж, гудамжаар алхаж, өөрөө бие засаж ч чадахгүй байх. Хүн амьдралд нь том гарз сургамж ирэх үед л жинхэнэ өөрийгөө олдог гэж гарсан. Гунигтай ч гэсэн энэ заримдаа үнэн байдаг биздээ. Жирийн хүн шиг алхаж, хувцсаа хэцэнд өлгөх, жирийн хүн шиг амьдрах ямар бол? Надад бай��аа юм зөвхөн миний дуу хоолой гэдэг. Энийгээ ч сайн ашигладаг, хайрлахад, хайрлуулахад, өөрийгөө илэрхийлэхэд, хэрэггүй нэгэнд нь хорон үгээ хэлэхэд.. Зохиолч руу энэ бодит явдлын эзэн охин нь захиа бичсэн байна. Би чамайг ийм зүйл хийдэг үгүйг мэдэхгүй, гэхдээ бидний түүхээр ном бичээсэй гэж хүсч байна. Бодит түүх, бодит саагаар өвдсөн эмэгтэй 20хэдэн насандаа гэрлэж, жирэмсэн болсон. Нөхөр нь саатай, бас энэ эмчлэгдэхгүй гэдгийг мэдээд хаясан. Охиноо өөрөө өсгөсөн. 3жил доорх зурганд байгаа шиг төмөр уушгиар амьсгалж байсан. Өдрийн, шөнийн асрагч хөлсөлж охинтойгоо амьдарч, охиноо өөрөө өсгөсөн байна. Ингээд байхаар чинь яаж ном уншихгүй байхын бээ? Солиотой, сонирхолтой, илэн далангүй, ичмээр сэдвийг ч энгийн дотно харуулсан, уншихгүй байхын аргагүй ном байлаа. ❤️
Одоо чамд мэдээж санаа зовох асуудал зөндөө байгаа, бүх юм бүтэхгүй байгаа юм шиг. Хангалттай мөнгөгүй, урдаа тавьсан зорилгоо ч биелүүлээгүЙ, үргэлж хангалттай биш гэхдээ л амьд бүр жинхэнэ утгаараа амьдарч байгаа, азтай гэдгээ мартсан биз?
August 25, 2022
Elizabeth Berg simply does not disappoint.
This is a heartfelt story of a young girl with a handicapped mom.
It's a coming of age story, but it's also an in-depth look at what life was like in the 60s.
When you're done with it, be sure to read the author's note.
Highly recommend.
ps - there might be some language (I honestly don't remember), and there are a couple of brief intimate scenes witnessed (two that last less than a paragraph or so).
This is a heartfelt story of a young girl with a handicapped mom.
It's a coming of age story, but it's also an in-depth look at what life was like in the 60s.
When you're done with it, be sure to read the author's note.
Highly recommend.
ps - there might be some language (I honestly don't remember), and there are a couple of brief intimate scenes witnessed (two that last less than a paragraph or so).
January 15, 2010
Domestic drama like this can easily sink into the melodramatic abyss. You've got a quadriplegic woman struggling to keep afloat financially; her husband left her when she came down with polio -- at nine months pregnant -- and the only help he offered was to get the baby adopted. A real peach of a guy.
The daughter (Diana) narrates. She's thirteen at as the novel opens, so this is a coming of age story. Her relationship with her mother, with Peacie, the black woman who has cared for them both since Diana's birth, and Peacie's husband; with her best friend. It's about the way poverty grinds people down and down. It's about the sixties, segregation, voting rights, racism. It's about Elvis Presley.
Berg is juggling a great deal, but mostly she pulls it off. The last chapter wobbles precariously, because Berg wants to leave these characters in a good place, but a lot of very bad things have happened. So there's a bit of magic there, of the authorial kind. I can't say more without giving too much away, but I can say this: I was very moved by the last few scenes, though the whole time I was also aware of the heavy handed nature of the resolution. It still worked for me on some (sentimental) level.
There's nothing wrong with sentiment, with emotion, with happy endings. I'm just not sure about the way Berg produced them, in this instance.
The daughter (Diana) narrates. She's thirteen at as the novel opens, so this is a coming of age story. Her relationship with her mother, with Peacie, the black woman who has cared for them both since Diana's birth, and Peacie's husband; with her best friend. It's about the way poverty grinds people down and down. It's about the sixties, segregation, voting rights, racism. It's about Elvis Presley.
Berg is juggling a great deal, but mostly she pulls it off. The last chapter wobbles precariously, because Berg wants to leave these characters in a good place, but a lot of very bad things have happened. So there's a bit of magic there, of the authorial kind. I can't say more without giving too much away, but I can say this: I was very moved by the last few scenes, though the whole time I was also aware of the heavy handed nature of the resolution. It still worked for me on some (sentimental) level.
There's nothing wrong with sentiment, with emotion, with happy endings. I'm just not sure about the way Berg produced them, in this instance.
February 24, 2021
What a gorgeous, precious tale of sacrificial love in all different forms. Of the tender treatment of racism during the Freedom Summer in MS 60’s— of the author’s love for getting dirty and hanging in there with others who are suffering. I had wandering thots of The Help here and there.
Life is unfair— don’t take no rocket scientist to see this shouted from the mountain tops in our quotidian happenings. But there is beautiful, lovely redemption when we lean on and accept someone leaning against us!
Can’t believe I read an article about this golden hearted author who also is a nurse, and her heart for telling the world the story of a particular daughter who longed to celebrate the strength and loving heart of her polio-stricken Mother.
I loved this book. Found it for free at a little local place in Kauai to boot! So I consider this a winner in that regard as well!!!
Diana is AMAZING— smart, strong, takes initiative, labors hard, has strong fealties... thank you, E Berg!
Life is unfair— don’t take no rocket scientist to see this shouted from the mountain tops in our quotidian happenings. But there is beautiful, lovely redemption when we lean on and accept someone leaning against us!
Can’t believe I read an article about this golden hearted author who also is a nurse, and her heart for telling the world the story of a particular daughter who longed to celebrate the strength and loving heart of her polio-stricken Mother.
I loved this book. Found it for free at a little local place in Kauai to boot! So I consider this a winner in that regard as well!!!
Diana is AMAZING— smart, strong, takes initiative, labors hard, has strong fealties... thank you, E Berg!
October 10, 2015
14 year old Diana is used to doing her share of looking after her mother Paige, who has been left badly disabled by polio,with help only from Peacie,the daytime caregiver who Diana has a strained relationship with. Diana and her friend both have dreams of fame and a better life,so when a handsome man moves into the town,both girls want him to date their single mothers. This rivalry leads to a terrible change in the lives of Paige,Diana and Peacie.
This book couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be-a bit of civil rights activism, a bit of the 'against all odd' medical drama, a coming of age drama and an implausible feel-good story...and it came up lacking on all fronts. I liked the civil rights part and Paige's challenges and doomed romance but the other parts with the girls doing the plays, and the Elvis sub plot just didn't work and turned the book into a bit of a mish-mash.
This book couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be-a bit of civil rights activism, a bit of the 'against all odd' medical drama, a coming of age drama and an implausible feel-good story...and it came up lacking on all fronts. I liked the civil rights part and Paige's challenges and doomed romance but the other parts with the girls doing the plays, and the Elvis sub plot just didn't work and turned the book into a bit of a mish-mash.
September 9, 2019
Elizabeth Berg is incapable of writing a bad book. How I wish she were my neighbor.
June 19, 2019
This was based on a true story. A fan asked the author to write about her mother. She agreed but only if she could fictionalize it. Paige Dunn gets polio when she is pregnant with her daughter, Diana, and after the baby is born her husband leaves her. She decides that she wants to raise Diana herself. I do believe that Paige could accomplish all that she did but at times the book really seemed improbable. Diana is great taking care of her mom but at other times it surprises me how unsympathetic she can be but I suppose being 13 that is part of the package. This is set in the 60s in Mississippi so there is a little bit of Freedom Summer thrown in. I would have liked that part of the story to have been fleshed out more.
December 13, 2019
A fictional account of teenage Dianna Dunn who lives in Tupelo, Mississippi in the 1960’s with her mother Paige who because of polio is in an iron lung and a black caregiver who makes the living situation possible.
According to the author’s notes she was approached by someone to write this story based on their mother’s life. Knowing this made it quite interesting even though it’s an easy to read and brief story.
3.5,stars Read for Retired Bookworms club. 12/2019
According to the author’s notes she was approached by someone to write this story based on their mother’s life. Knowing this made it quite interesting even though it’s an easy to read and brief story.
3.5,stars Read for Retired Bookworms club. 12/2019
May 26, 2009
It is 1964, in Tupelo, Mississippi, and a young mother, Paige Dunn – paralyzed by polio while pregnant with her daughter Diana – lives a life limited by her condition and as a single mother. But because of her inner strength and determination, she is raising her daughter, now entering her teens. Paige’s in-home help (she is a quadriplegic) consists of a young black woman (Peacie) who comes in the daytime, and another helper who comes for part of each night.
Against this backdrop, Peacie and her husband LaRue, also constrained by their own limitations of race during a time of segregation, are equally determined to push for a life beyond its limitations. While Peacie cares for Paige, LaRue decides to help with the voter registration cause, involving himself in protest marches and placing himself at risk.
Gradually, things begin to unravel for these characters: LaRue is arrested, Peacie bails him out with money loaned by Paige – who can ill afford it – and someone has called to report the family to social services for having “insufficient help” in the home. Peacie’s occasional absences have taken a toll.
Throughout the dire series of events that lead to what might seem a hopeless situation, Paige maintains her faith and hope, determined to find the help she needs so that she can finish her job parenting her daughter.
What unexpected events turn this disaster on end? And will Diana’s father be of assistance? Will Peacie return in her role as caretaker? Or will Paige have to finally give in to her limitations?
Just when they are all about to give up, an unexpected visitor appears – someone who owes Paige a debt of gratitude for something that occurred many years before – and their lives are all blessedly improved.
An inspirational story based on true events that have been fictionalized, “We Are All Welcome Here” sends a message of hope to all those who have almost given up on the circumstances that seemingly control their lives.
Against this backdrop, Peacie and her husband LaRue, also constrained by their own limitations of race during a time of segregation, are equally determined to push for a life beyond its limitations. While Peacie cares for Paige, LaRue decides to help with the voter registration cause, involving himself in protest marches and placing himself at risk.
Gradually, things begin to unravel for these characters: LaRue is arrested, Peacie bails him out with money loaned by Paige – who can ill afford it – and someone has called to report the family to social services for having “insufficient help” in the home. Peacie’s occasional absences have taken a toll.
Throughout the dire series of events that lead to what might seem a hopeless situation, Paige maintains her faith and hope, determined to find the help she needs so that she can finish her job parenting her daughter.
What unexpected events turn this disaster on end? And will Diana’s father be of assistance? Will Peacie return in her role as caretaker? Or will Paige have to finally give in to her limitations?
Just when they are all about to give up, an unexpected visitor appears – someone who owes Paige a debt of gratitude for something that occurred many years before – and their lives are all blessedly improved.
An inspirational story based on true events that have been fictionalized, “We Are All Welcome Here” sends a message of hope to all those who have almost given up on the circumstances that seemingly control their lives.
October 29, 2008
A departure for Elizabeth Berg, in that she bases this novel on a real person, a mother in California who contracts polio in 1951. She delivers her third child while in an iron lung, in which she remains for 3 years. Her husband divorces her and offers to have the children adopted out, which she refuses to allow. She eventually is able to raise her children and earn a college degree, with help from caregivers.
In the novel the main character is an only child, a 13 year old girl, who lives in the deep south in 1964 with her mother, a victim of polio who can only move her head. The mother's main caregiver is a black woman, and through her and her boyfriend's story, we learn about some of the civil rights issues of the time. The circumstances of the fictional mother's situation are quite similar to that of the real person, but the southern location, the racial issues which affect the story, and the appearance of Elvis were added.
Some of the characters were pretty well developed and it's quite a tear jerker at the end. However, knowing that there was a real person who raised her children while maintaining an overwhelmingly positive outlook about her situation made me wish that Berg had written about her instead of making up so much of the story.
In the novel the main character is an only child, a 13 year old girl, who lives in the deep south in 1964 with her mother, a victim of polio who can only move her head. The mother's main caregiver is a black woman, and through her and her boyfriend's story, we learn about some of the civil rights issues of the time. The circumstances of the fictional mother's situation are quite similar to that of the real person, but the southern location, the racial issues which affect the story, and the appearance of Elvis were added.
Some of the characters were pretty well developed and it's quite a tear jerker at the end. However, knowing that there was a real person who raised her children while maintaining an overwhelmingly positive outlook about her situation made me wish that Berg had written about her instead of making up so much of the story.
August 1, 2016
What an excellent read We Are All Welcome Here byElizabeth Berg was! I don't usually like coming of age stories, but this one was outstanding. This is a story based on a true story, but I felt Berg's characters were just as real.
It is 1964 and Diana Dunn is a 14-year-old girl trying to live a normal life with her mother Paige who is confined to an iron lung due to polio. Peacie is the African American woman who takes care of both Paige and Diana. This is a wonderful story of facing adversity with love, grace and faith.
"Love does not have legs. It does not have arms. But it moves mountains."
Go Cards! L1C4!!
It is 1964 and Diana Dunn is a 14-year-old girl trying to live a normal life with her mother Paige who is confined to an iron lung due to polio. Peacie is the African American woman who takes care of both Paige and Diana. This is a wonderful story of facing adversity with love, grace and faith.
"Love does not have legs. It does not have arms. But it moves mountains."
Go Cards! L1C4!!
October 15, 2019
Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers. She doesn't write from the heart - she FEELS from the heart and soul and somehow gets that elusive combination of joy and pain and sorrow and love alive on the page. "We are all welcome here" (a horrible title, I must say) shows off Berg's talent beautifully. The main character's 14-year-old voice is real and true. What she learns through her year of difficulties and discoveries via her amazing invalid mom and their strong, bitter, amazing caretaker Peavy is astounding. I didn't want the story to end, and yet I cheered at the ending. I read this on Audibles and was surprised to learn that Berg was the reader. Another talent.
July 22, 2008
I love Berg's books, and I was particularly drawn to the title of this one. It really sums up the love and compassion in the story.
September 28, 2017
Being from Chicago, Elizabeth Berg is a familiar and much loved author. This book, inspired by a true story, was winsome, poignant and inspired. The story centers on a mother, who is a "quad" due to polio and gave birth to her daughter while in an iron lung, and her relationship with her daughter. Set against a backdrop of civil rights struggles in 1964, themes of freedom, voice and acceptance move through the narrative -- giving breath to a story sure to cause one to squirm, pause, reflect, and smile.
November 10, 2018
We Are All Welcome Here is one of two Elizabeth Berg books I chose to take on a summer cottage vacation. The previous winter, I discovered Berg and read her most recent novel The Story of Arthur Truluv, which I very much enjoyed. It was a feel good book filled with wonderful and wonderfully described characters. I wanted to read similar joy filled books on my holidays and take a break from the heavier and more difficult books, in terms of content, that I had been reading.
We Are All Welcome Here turned out to be a feel good, feel anxious and feel empathy novel. It is primarily about three strong females each facing troubles and difficulties in their lives. However, it is their shared traits of strength, resiliency and caring that sets the book’s tone.
Paige, a young mother whose husband left her after her daughter’s birth, is paralyzed in child birth from the neck down. She needs assistance with all of her life’s activities including breathing. She lives independently and requires round the clock help she cannot afford as she lives in poverty and no government assistance for at home care is available. Her fourteen-year-old daughter Diana is a huge help but she longs for more freedom. She wants to be a “regular” teen like everyone else, without the adult responsibilities, she shoulders on a daily basis. Diana adores her mom and her mother loves her. Their bond is palpable but like all mom/teen relationships, it has its stresses and conflicts. Peacie is the housekeeper who comes daily and takes care of all the household chores, in addition to caring for Paige and also helping to raise Diana. She works long hours and does everything for love as she is and has been part of the family for many years. Peacie is a black woman, with a loving husband, but facing her own challenges of segregation and struggles for equality and the right for respect and the right to vote.
Berg’s characters are complex and compelling. Her descriptions and writing make them come alive. In addition, to the three primary female characters, Berg also introduces some interesting secondary characters who contribute much interest to the plot and gave me a greater sense of what the lives of Paige, Diana and Peacie were like.
The difficulties are heart-wrenching. The poverty is hard-to-believe but the determination of each of these females to overcome and to build the types of lives for themselves that they want is worth cheering about. Paige wants to live independently with her daughter and not in a nursing home. Diana wants to see more of the world and spend more time with her friends but despite these longings, mostly she wants to live with her Mom and be just like her. Her mom is her idol. This is so apparent in the story and had me routing for Paige’s strength and independence throughout. Paige didn’t let her disability stand in the way of being a terrific mother and role model. She used her strength, intelligence, kindness, independence and humour to raise her daughter. Paige was also colour-blind and caring and loved Peacie like a sister or her own mother. Peacie returned the love by working far beyond the hours she was financially compensated for. She also contributed in numerous ways beyond traditional housekeeping tasks to help Paige and Diana continue to live in their home. Paige, Diana and Peacie were a strong family unit, not through blood but through love.
We Are All Welcome Here brings up so many topics. Some but not all topics include poverty, lack of Medicare and social assistance, the inability of some people to see others as a person first and foremost, rather than only for their disability or skin colour, the widespread segregation in the sixties and the beginning changes to start desegregation and to achieve the right to vote for black people. Berg raises lots of real issues for readers to ponder.
We Are All Welcome Here is a feel good, feel anxious and feel empathy book. It touches on many important topics and features a cast of three strong females who one can’t help but respect and cheer for. 3 stars.
We Are All Welcome Here turned out to be a feel good, feel anxious and feel empathy novel. It is primarily about three strong females each facing troubles and difficulties in their lives. However, it is their shared traits of strength, resiliency and caring that sets the book’s tone.
Paige, a young mother whose husband left her after her daughter’s birth, is paralyzed in child birth from the neck down. She needs assistance with all of her life’s activities including breathing. She lives independently and requires round the clock help she cannot afford as she lives in poverty and no government assistance for at home care is available. Her fourteen-year-old daughter Diana is a huge help but she longs for more freedom. She wants to be a “regular” teen like everyone else, without the adult responsibilities, she shoulders on a daily basis. Diana adores her mom and her mother loves her. Their bond is palpable but like all mom/teen relationships, it has its stresses and conflicts. Peacie is the housekeeper who comes daily and takes care of all the household chores, in addition to caring for Paige and also helping to raise Diana. She works long hours and does everything for love as she is and has been part of the family for many years. Peacie is a black woman, with a loving husband, but facing her own challenges of segregation and struggles for equality and the right for respect and the right to vote.
Berg’s characters are complex and compelling. Her descriptions and writing make them come alive. In addition, to the three primary female characters, Berg also introduces some interesting secondary characters who contribute much interest to the plot and gave me a greater sense of what the lives of Paige, Diana and Peacie were like.
The difficulties are heart-wrenching. The poverty is hard-to-believe but the determination of each of these females to overcome and to build the types of lives for themselves that they want is worth cheering about. Paige wants to live independently with her daughter and not in a nursing home. Diana wants to see more of the world and spend more time with her friends but despite these longings, mostly she wants to live with her Mom and be just like her. Her mom is her idol. This is so apparent in the story and had me routing for Paige’s strength and independence throughout. Paige didn’t let her disability stand in the way of being a terrific mother and role model. She used her strength, intelligence, kindness, independence and humour to raise her daughter. Paige was also colour-blind and caring and loved Peacie like a sister or her own mother. Peacie returned the love by working far beyond the hours she was financially compensated for. She also contributed in numerous ways beyond traditional housekeeping tasks to help Paige and Diana continue to live in their home. Paige, Diana and Peacie were a strong family unit, not through blood but through love.
We Are All Welcome Here brings up so many topics. Some but not all topics include poverty, lack of Medicare and social assistance, the inability of some people to see others as a person first and foremost, rather than only for their disability or skin colour, the widespread segregation in the sixties and the beginning changes to start desegregation and to achieve the right to vote for black people. Berg raises lots of real issues for readers to ponder.
We Are All Welcome Here is a feel good, feel anxious and feel empathy book. It touches on many important topics and features a cast of three strong females who one can’t help but respect and cheer for. 3 stars.
October 8, 2010
I got the suggestion for this book from an Amazon "Customers who bought this book also bought ..." I believe the suggestion was on the Amazon page for The Help, which I loved and was looking for suggestions of similar books. Elizabeth Berg is always good for a nice, sweet story, one that is light but doesn't insult your intelligence. (Ditto Ann Tyler. They may, in fact, be the same person.)
This book, based on a true story suggested to Berg by a reader, is about a woman who contracts polio while pregnant in the early 1950s, then gives birth to her baby in an iron lung. Her husband leaves her and offers to put the baby up for adoption before he leaves, but the mom will have nothing to do with it. She manages to raise the baby with the aid of a no-nonsense caretaker. The majority of the story takes place when the child is 13, and is set against the backdrop of the 1960s South. So, naturally the issue of racial tensions enters heavily into the plot.
Although this was no The Help, I liked this book. I always enjoy historical fiction, because even if the plot isn't interesting (and this one was a little bit slow), you learn a lot about the time period in which the book is set.
This book, based on a true story suggested to Berg by a reader, is about a woman who contracts polio while pregnant in the early 1950s, then gives birth to her baby in an iron lung. Her husband leaves her and offers to put the baby up for adoption before he leaves, but the mom will have nothing to do with it. She manages to raise the baby with the aid of a no-nonsense caretaker. The majority of the story takes place when the child is 13, and is set against the backdrop of the 1960s South. So, naturally the issue of racial tensions enters heavily into the plot.
Although this was no The Help, I liked this book. I always enjoy historical fiction, because even if the plot isn't interesting (and this one was a little bit slow), you learn a lot about the time period in which the book is set.
December 8, 2012
This is maybe my fifth or sixth Elizabeth Berg novel and, despite the fact that it was missing a characteristically laugh-out-loud moment that I've come to look forward to in Berg's work, this might just be my favorite.
I loved the point of view of the 13 year old, whom I so identified with. I cringe to think of my narcissistic, naive, 13 year old self and I believe Berg captured this painfully unaware stage of life really well. I enjoyed watching the drama of her mother's "romance" unfold from Diana's perspective. You get that Diana doesn't fully understand what's happening, but you as the reader, do. Same with the friendship between her mother and Peacie. You get why Diana hates her (if you remember being a teenager) but as an adult, you also get why her mother loves and trusts her.
I found myself thinking about this novel a lot after I finished it...the injustice of random life-altering sickness, the ways the world had changed since the 60's to accomodate disabilities or at least to make life more bearable, the awfulness of depending on others 100% of the time, the strength of the real woman upon whom this novel is based, and the power of mind over body.
I loved the point of view of the 13 year old, whom I so identified with. I cringe to think of my narcissistic, naive, 13 year old self and I believe Berg captured this painfully unaware stage of life really well. I enjoyed watching the drama of her mother's "romance" unfold from Diana's perspective. You get that Diana doesn't fully understand what's happening, but you as the reader, do. Same with the friendship between her mother and Peacie. You get why Diana hates her (if you remember being a teenager) but as an adult, you also get why her mother loves and trusts her.
I found myself thinking about this novel a lot after I finished it...the injustice of random life-altering sickness, the ways the world had changed since the 60's to accomodate disabilities or at least to make life more bearable, the awfulness of depending on others 100% of the time, the strength of the real woman upon whom this novel is based, and the power of mind over body.
March 17, 2014
1964 Mississippi. Paige is determined to raise her daughter herself, even though Paige is paralyzed from the neck down by polio. Her daughter Diana loves her mom deeply, no matter how difficult it is for her to take care of her. It isn't easy to find good caregivers around the clock, especially when they have to be paid out of state disability benefits. Diana has had resentfully to adapt herself to Peacie, which she can do because Peacie's boyfriend LaRue is so nice. Then LaRue devotes himself to the civil-rights movement, and a day comes when all Paige's delicate contrivances fall apart.
The end is a deus ex machina, but truly, nothing but a deus ex machina could have solved Paige and Diana's problems. Paige is based on a true person. It is so astounding that Pat Raming managed to build the life she was determined on and to live so positively; no wonder Elizabeth Berg was inspired by her.
WE ARE ALL WELCOME HERE isn't my kind of book. A friend who has different reading tastes from mine placed it in my hands because she enjoyed it so much. I decided several times I wasn't going to finish it, but applying a few little stratagems kept me connected to the people until the end.
The end is a deus ex machina, but truly, nothing but a deus ex machina could have solved Paige and Diana's problems. Paige is based on a true person. It is so astounding that Pat Raming managed to build the life she was determined on and to live so positively; no wonder Elizabeth Berg was inspired by her.
WE ARE ALL WELCOME HERE isn't my kind of book. A friend who has different reading tastes from mine placed it in my hands because she enjoyed it so much. I decided several times I wasn't going to finish it, but applying a few little stratagems kept me connected to the people until the end.
January 13, 2009
I like all of Elizabeth Berg's stuff. She has a way of describing simple things that make them glimmer somehow. The story is told from a 13 year-old girl's point of view, which she does a terrific job of, and takes place during the civil rights movement. Her mom contracts polio just before her birth, leaving her paralyzed, and her husband leaves her when he finds out she'll always be a quadriplegic. She is an incredibly strong woman, and so is her main caregiver, an African-American woman. There is also the girl's best friend and a smattering of neighborhood folks this family relies on to help out in emergency situations, etc., to add interest to a solid novel. I would probably give it 3.75 stars if I could, but it's definitely worth the read.
January 12, 2010
The Author's Note and the first bit of this book were brilliant -- the end a bit far-fetched, but hopeful. The bits in between okay, but a little like one of those movies on the Hallmark channel. But it was a quick read, written in a memoir style, and an interesting tie in (in my mind) to my recent reading of The Help. It also called to mind An American Summer, by Frank Deford, which I read a while back and liked. I think I'd hoped for more, but at least was able to get some bits and pieces out of it all. Having been raised by a disabled woman, who didn't seem to realize she was disabled, and who, when asked, referred to it as a "great inconvenience", I could appreciate Paige's determination to live her life fully and freely.
February 15, 2012
This started slowly, but as it unfolded, I enjoyed this very gentle story. It is fiction, but heavily based on the true life story of a woman struck with Polio just before she gave birth to her daughter. She spent three years in an iron lung, and then came home, paralyzed from the neck down, and on a respirator. Her husband left, and she spends years struggling to make arrangements so that she can keep her daughter with her. Well written.
August 31, 2011
I'd prefer to give this 2.5 stars as I nearly liked it. I loved the writing but I really didn't warm to any of the characters. Diana was a moody teenager who I didn't like at all, Peacie seemed very mean and Paige herself wasn't really involved that much. Its a hard story of a hard life, set in hard times.
July 19, 2023
My first Elizabeth Berg. It made me a fan
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