We Are All Welcome Here: A Novel (Paperback)

by Elizabeth Berg (Author)
Key Phrases: vent hose, Susan Hogart, Sheriff Turner, Paige Dunn (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
A polio victim and her 13-year-old daughter work miracles from their Tupelo, Miss., home during the summer of 1964 in Berg's latest carefully calibrated domestic drama (after The Year of Pleasures). Having contracted polio at 22 while pregnant, Paige Dunn delivers her baby from an iron lung, and ends up raising her daughter, Diana, alone after her husband divorces her. Able to move only her head, Paige requires round-the-clock nursing care that social services barely cover. Now 13, Diana has taken over the night shift to save them money, sharing her mother's care with no-nonsense African-American day worker Peacie, who is protective of Paige and unforgiving of Diana's adolescent yearning for freedom. Paige is a paragon of kindness and wisdom, even in the face of less-than-charitable charity by petty small-town residents, while Diana and Peacie consistently lock horns. But when Peacie's boyfriend, LaRue, ventures down the perilous path of helping register black voters during this Freedom Summer and trouble follows him, Diana will gain compassion thanks to her mother's selfless aid to LaRue and Peacie. As the novel (based on a true story) is set in Tupelo, the specter of Elvis Presley naturally intrudes, for an over-the-top, heartrending finale.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–As a student nurse, Paige Dunn once took care of Elvis Presley's mother in Tupelo, MS. She contracted polio while pregnant with her daughter and is paralyzed from the neck down. Deserted by her husband and on welfare, Paige relies on Peacie, her black daytime caregiver, and on her daughter, Diana, now 13, for help at night. The teen is devoted to her beautiful, talented mother, yet at times is resentful that her mother's needs must come before her own. When the girl wins $2500 in a contest, Paige gives most of the money to Peacie for medical care for her boyfriend, who was badly beaten for participating in a civil rights demonstration. When their social worker learns that the money that would have provided for a nighttime caregiver has been used for other expenses, she demands that the situation be remedied. Diana writes to Elvis, enclosing a song her mother had written long ago, he responds with a visit to Paige, and suddenly their life is made infinitely easier. Full of humor, devoid of self-pity, with lively characters that rise above their circumstances, this is the story of an adolescent accepting adult responsibilities, encountering the temptations of boys and booze, and experiencing the tensions between race and class in the 1960s. –Molly Connally, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812971000
• ISBN-13: 978-0812971002
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't be able to put it down ~ excellent!!!, April 23, 2006

By	mamareadssomuch "mamareadssomuch" - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Are All Welcome Here: A Novel (Hardcover)

If you are a fan of Elizabeth Berg books, then you know you are in for an emotional ride. This novel doesn't disappoint ~ I wasn't able to put it down. It opened up with a note from the author, how a fan had written to her an requested she write the story of her mother's life. Berg immediately didn't want to commit to such a task, but after learning more about this amazing woman's mother, she agreed and said it would be a fictional account. The result is amazing.

Paige Dunn is married and pregnant. She is diagnosed with Polio and delivers her baby, Diana, in an iron lung. Paige lives in the lung for three years; her husband leaves her and after that time in the hospital, she is able to return home to the care of two caregivers in order to raise her daughter, as best as she is able. The time is 1964 and the story is set in Tupelo, MS. The plot is woven with civil rights, sweepstakes and an Elvis surprise in the ending is a twist!

Diana is thirteen when the story opens and in her forties by the end of the book. The novel is a testament to a lovely, beautiful woman, Paige Dunn, and her strong will to live her life as it is (she can only move her head) and raise her daughter, whom she loves so much.

The title is significant because it touches on several characters in the book. WE ARE ALL WELCOME HERE had me absorbed from page one. I urge you to read it and be moved too!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down!, October 6, 2006

By	J. B. Morian "Bakem416-booklover" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: We Are All Welcome Here: A Novel (Hardcover)

This was a wonderful book! Elizabeth Berg has done it again with a fascinating story about a an adult woman polio survivor, her adolescent daughter, and her housekeeper/friend. She provided some thought provoking issues regarding the difficulties encountered by a single mother that is handicapped, the responsibilities of a child to a parent and vice versa, and how sometimes "family" comes in the form of someone not related by blood.

This was one of those books that made you feel that you know the characters. I was sorry when the book came to an end. I highly recommend it!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!, April 14, 2006

By	A. Hansen "AH Booklover" (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: We Are All Welcome Here: A Novel (Hardcover)

A heartwarming story. I learned interesting things in this book. For example, one of the main characters had polio and can only move her head...however, she can feel everything! I didn't know that was possible! So, not only do you learn a little, you are entertained by a wonderful story about friendship, parenting, the race problems of the 60's, and of coarse...growing up. What's not to love? This is a book that's rather short, but not short in it's story. Sometimes just as you learn about the characters the story ends. Not in this case. Berg did a good job letting us know the characters and finishing the book up in a way we feel content. I don't think you'll waste your time at all!!