About the Book
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)
Table of Contents:
Introduction
- Phone Calls
- The Diaries
- Messages
- Accidents
- Sugar
- The Dinner Table
- The Kaleidoscope
- Medical Records
- The Gold Pen
- The Volunteer
- Random Acts of Kindness
- Death Notice
- Obituary
- Ashes
- Birthday Letter
- Re-learning to Fly
- The Birth(day) Ring
- Worry Machine
- Change of Address
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author :
Deborah J. Cohan is a 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.
Review :
"#GirlDad a nice sentiment but might come with mixed emotions" by Gracie Bonds Staples
https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/girldad-nice-sentiment-but-might-come-with-mixed-emotions/sSVEg8lX35QBA8FNsWjU0N/— Atlanta Journal Constitution
"The Most Anticipated Memoirs of 2020" by Stephanie Elliot
https://shereads.com/most-anticipated-memoirs-of-2020/
— She Reads
"A Memoir Of Family, Caregiving and Redemption: 'Some Things Can Be Deleted, Just Often Not The Memory" by Deborah J. Cohan— Ms. Magazine
"Cohan's beautifully-nuanced book is an important addition to a distinctly American strain of memoir that seeks to fully explore family dynamics with all of its complications, glories, travails, and facing of mortality. This is a slice of life that is both wide and deep."
— Sue William Silverman, author of Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You
"This memoir of caretaking unspools so many of the complicated emotions wrapped up in helping a parent as they die. Writing about taking care of her father, Deborah J. Cohan details the realities of what it means to get sick and the toll it takes on the people around the ill person. A compassionate narrative, the book shows us how life doesn't stop when we are providing care to sick loved ones — it only gets trickier."— Buzzfeed
"Welcome to Wherever We Are is a memoir of a difficult family, a relationship between a father and a daughter. It involves abuse, dislike, love and a great deal of caring. It is a memoir, but one guided by the sociological lens of writer Deborah Cohan. She offers us a personal story set in the context of complicated family relationships in contemporary American society."— Barbara J. Risman, co-editor of Families as They Really Are
"Author Deborah J. Cohan: 'How To Connect With Yourself To Live With Better Relationships'" by Kristin Marquet
https://medium.com/authority-magazine/author-deborah-j-cohan-how-to-connect-with-yourself-to-live-with-better-relationships-9113bf69603a— Authority Magazine
"Cohan writes poetically about the love we share with others, even those who harm us. Yet, she never sees herself as a victim, rather, Cohan finds the courage to allow herself to be vulnerable, to break, and to find her way into strength and resilience. Her experiences evoke in her a deep compassion for others....As a public sociologist and former domestic abuse counselor, Cohan makes potent links between sociology and memoir. She draws parallels between memoir writing and qualitative research methods, specifically case studies."— Sociological Forum
"Welcome to Wherever We Are is a brave memoir that sheds light on the challenges of caring for an abusive parent. This volume is bound to offer solace and support to those in similar situations. Deborah J. Cohan's honesty and compassion make this a unique and valuable memoir for anyone who has survived abuse by a parent and struggles to make sense of the conflicting feelings of love and responsibility as well as anger and resentment toward their abuser." — Ms. Magazine
"Both Sides of the Truth" by Deborah J. Cohan
https://www.brandeis.edu/magazine/2020/summer/turning-points.html— Brandeis Magazine
"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."— The Ohioana
"In sum, Welcome to Wherever We Are centers the personal—the inner conflict that Cohan had with wanting to provide good care, be a good daughter, and still love an abusive father through continued abuse. It is a book about the contradictions in relationships, in care, and in abuse. While it significantly adds to the research on caregiving and family violence, it does not do so from a distance but breaks down the barriers between academic literature and our own personal experiences by weaving together intimate personal stories grounded in the larger social context. It is up close, personal, emotional, and messy."— Christina Barmon, Association for Anthropology, Gerontology and the Life Course
"Cohan tells her personal journey while 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. Most people deal with at least one of these issues. The book explores how people could live better amidst unpredictable changes through grief and healing."— Cleveland Jewish News
Mention of Welcome to Wherever We Are in the November 2019 issue of Active for Life
http://scottvilleareaseniorcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/November-2019-Working-Copy.pdf— Active for Life (Mason County, MI)
"Column: What if the elderly parent you're caring for abused you as a child? New memoir explores a timely, complicated subject" by Heidi Stevens
https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/heidi-stevens/ct-heidi-stevens-coronavirus-welcome-to-wherever-we-are-book-0331-20200331-hfnbmefz7jdffavxle5tpu6j7i-story.html?— Chicago Tribune
"How to Write a Lot on a Heavy Teaching Load" by Deborah J. Cohan
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/12/05/how-write-more-regularly-and-publish-more-often-despite-having-heavy-teaching-load
— Inside Higher Education
"Deborah Cohan has written a brave and beautiful memoir….not 'beautiful' in the sense of pretty or lovely or sugarcoated in any way. Beautifully written, yes, but also beautiful in its raw, graphic honesty—that is, in the sense that truth is beauty. There is much hard-won wisdom in these pages--wisdom gleaned from Cohan's years of caregiving for an abusive parent--and it will benefit those who find themselves navigating that rocky terrain. But this is also a story about life and death, love and loss, and the complicated nature of family and relationship. Which makes Welcome to Wherever We Are a universal story, one with wisdom for us all." — Abby Seixas, author of Finding the Deep River Within
"Phone Calls: An Excerpt From Welcome To Wherever We Are by Deborah J. Cohan"
https://www.ravishly.com/phone-calls-excerpt-welcome-wherever-we-are— Ravishly
"At the heart of this book is Cohan's self-awareness that her father's love and abuse were intertwined and her ongoing recovery from that confusing simultaneity led her to write this book. It is a rare author who can artfully write a memoir that is both personal and a deep sociological analysis of family and identity. This book is applicable to any sociology or psychology course yet will also appeal to memoir writers and readers who want an example of a compassionate treatment of a life that includes love, abuse, and ongoing recovery."— Psychology of Women Quarterly
"In this engrossing memoir, sociologist Deborah Cohan candidly describes her struggle caring for her aging father, who, as she was growing up, was at once kind and cruel. Undoubtedly, readers will be able to relate to Cohan's explorations into the complexities of family, evolving relationships, and complicated emotions."— Ms. Magazine
"Love the sinner, hate the sin: thus, unfurls Cohan's memoir. Fractional love and uncomfortable rage toward her father blend with her longing for his abusive behavior to disappear and leave only the often extraordinary father. Cohan's crystalline honest prose brings the reader inside the dilemma of caring for an aging parent who brought her torment laced with love and magic--what is it like to adore, fear, and protect yourself from the father you feared and cherished?"— Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Murderer's Daughters and Waisted
"How to Remodel Your Home With Your Significant Other—Without Arguing Even Once," by Kelsey Mulvey: https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/home-improvement/renovations/home-remodeling-couple— Real Simple
"Cohan's father was a story of opposites – abusive and controlling and also at times gentle and loving. When he gets sick and she must take care of him, she's unsure how to manage her emotions. She must let go of her anger in order to help her father and to come to terms with her own grief to begin to heal."— She Reads
"An Open Letter to College Students about the Heartbeat Bill: Notes from a College Professor on Abortion" by Deborah J. Cohan, Ph.D.: https://medium.com/@debjcoh/an-open-letter-to-college-students-about-the-heartbeat-bill-notes-from-a-college-professor-on-63effdcabdb6— Medium
"Welcome to Wherever We Are is the perfect illustration of the whole spectrum of intergenerational solidarity, conflict, and ambiguity within family relationships and ties during both life and death."
— Sarah E. Patterson, Contexts
"There Has to Be a Better Way," by Deborah J. Cohan
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2019/08/21/diversity-and-antiharassment-trainings-must-be-improved-opinion— Inside Higher Education
"Are we doing enough to protect children from predators?" by Gracie Bonds Staples: https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/are-doing-enough-protect-children-from-predators/yOPwPpYM1VLO0dnWpGwFML/— Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Author and Shaker Heights native Deborah J. Cohan to discuss her new book, 'Welcome to Wherever We Are'" by Roxanne Washington
https://www.cleveland.com/living/2020/02/author-and-shaker-heights-native-deborah-j-cohan-to-discuss-her-new-book-welcome-to-wherever-we-are.html— Cleveland Plain Dealer
"How to Support an Employee Coming Out at Work," by Skye Schooley
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15141-employee-coming-out.html— Business News Daily
"With scrupulous honesty, and what Deborah so beautifully calls "tender curiosity," this is a journey toward reconciliation with the ambivalence she felt towards an emotionally abusive father. She winds up with love. Her memoir is an inspiration."— Abigail Thomas, author of What Comes Next and How to Like It: A Memoir and A Three Dog Life
"The Society Pages 3Q with Deborah J. Cohan"
https://thesocietypages.org/ccf/2019/08/06/3q-with-deborah-j-cohan/— The Society Pages
