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

Author
Cohan, Deborah J.
Published
New Brunswick : Rutgers University Press, [2020]
Physical Description
1 online resource
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Contents
Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1. Phone Calls -- Chapter 2. The Diaries -- Chapter 3. Messages -- Chapter 4. Accidents -- Chapter 5. Sugar -- Chapter 6. The Dinner Table -- Chapter 7. The Kaleidoscope -- Chapter 8. Medical Records -- Chapter 9. The Gold Pen -- Chapter 10. The Volunteer -- Chapter 11. Random Acts of Kindness -- Chapter 12. Death Notice -- Chapter 13. Obituary -- Chapter 14. Ashes -- Chapter 15. Birthday Letter -- Chapter 16. Relearning to Fly -- Chapter 17. The Birth(day) Ring -- Chapter 18. The Worry Machine and Chapter 19. Change of Address -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- About the Author
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).
Subject(s)
ISBN
9781978808935 (electronic bk.)
1978808933 (electronic bk.)
9781978808928
1978808925
Bibliography Note
Includes bibliographical references and index.
View MARC record | catkey: 43150349