Welcome to wherever we are : a memoir of family, caregiving and redemption / Deborah J. Cohan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cohan, Deborah J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Parent and adult child--United States.

Parent and adult child.

Adult child abuse victims--United States.

Adult child abuse victims.

Fathers and daughters--United States.

Fathers and daughters.

Adult children of aging parents--United States.

Adult children of aging parents.

Aging parents--Care--United States.

Aging parents.

Cohan, Deborah J.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (260 pages)

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, New Jersey : Rutgers University Press, [2020]

Summary:

Winner of the 2022 Memoir Prize for Books - Caregiving category​ ESS Public Sociology Award​ Recommended Book in Domestic Violence by DomesticShelters.org How do you go about caregiving for an ill and elderly parent with a lifelong history of abuse and control, intertwined with expressions of intense love and adoration? How do you reconcile the resulting ambivalence, fear, and anger? Welcome to Wherever We Are is a meditation on what we hold onto, what we let go of, how we remember others and ultimately how we’re remembered. Deborah Cohan shares her story of caring for her father, a man who was simultaneously loud, gentle, loving and cruel and whose brilliant career as an advertising executive included creating slogans like “Hey, how ‘bout a nice Hawaiian punch?” Wrestling with emotional extremes that characterize abusive relationships, Cohan shows how she navigated life with a man who was at once generous and affectionate, creating magical coat pockets filled with chocolate kisses when she was a little girl, yet who was also prone to searing, vicious remarks like “You’d make my life easier if you’d commit suicide.” In this gripping memoir, Cohan tells her unique personal story while also weaving in her expertise as a sociologist and domestic abuse counselor to address broader questions related to marriage, violence, divorce, only children, intimacy and loss. A story most of us can relate to as we reckon with past and future choices against the backdrop of complicated family dynamics, Welcome to Wherever We Are is about how we might come to live our own lives better amidst unpredictable changes through grief and healing. Questions for Discussion (https://d3tto5i5w9ogdd.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/11140346/Cohan_Discussion.docx)

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

1 Phone Calls

2 The Diaries

3 Messages

4 Accidents

5 Sugar

6 The Dinner Table

7 The Kaleidoscope

8 Medical Records

9 The Gold Pen

10 The Volunteer

11 Random Acts of Kindness

12 Death Notice

13 Obituary

14 Ashes

15 Birthday Letter

16 Relearning to Fly

17 The Birth(day) Ring

18 The Worry Machine

19 Change of Address

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781978808935

1978808933

9781978808959

197880895X

OCLC:

1134622190