Welcome to Wherever We Are, Deborah J. Cohan
Welcome to Wherever We Are, Deborah J. Cohan
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Welcome to Wherever We Are
A Memoir of Family, Caregiving, and Redemption

Author: Deborah J. Cohan

Narrator: Coleen Marlo

Unabridged: 7 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/18/2020

Synopsis

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.

About Deborah J. Cohan

Deborah J. Cohan is an associate professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort. Alongside her many academic publications, she is the author of the popular blog "Social Lights" for Psychology Today.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Pamela on January 30, 2020

Just finished reading Deb’s book. Now here is a fabulous writer! Her words paint pictures that make you feel you are right there with her. You laugh. You cry. You see elements of your own family in her story. This is a book that is inspiring. So very proud of you, Deb. Pamela Cooper Hoel Distinguished......more

Goodreads review by Julie on January 19, 2020

I just finished this book and did not want to put it down. It was absolutely incredible. Powerful, extremely well written and raw. It is a must read. I have not enjoyed a book like this in years. As a Gerontologist, I related to the author and her depiction of aging, family caregiving when difficult......more

Goodreads review by Angela on March 09, 2020

I was drawn to Welcome to Where We Are when I saw a post about it on a Facebook website, where the author invited me to attend her reading at my favorite Chicago book store. Deborah's compassionate, thoughtful and revealing insights at the reading were inspiring, but I was blown away when I read the......more

Goodreads review by Joan on February 15, 2025

A bit of a challenge to read more related to topic than writing or style. If you are dealing or dealt with caregiving for a parent, it will most definitely touch a nerve. The complicated family dynamic and her response to it is even more challenging. Several in my book club could not push through bu......more

Goodreads review by Lori on March 13, 2021

This was one of the most powerful memoirs I've ever read. The author weaves many strands together in this rich, raw story - traumatic childhood memories, her larger-than-life father's descent into nursing home hell, her complicated relationship with her mother and her own struggle to find and sustai......more

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