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    The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir
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    The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir
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    The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir

    Written by Diana Welch, Liz Welch, Amanda Welch and Dan Welch

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    A blisteringly funny, heart-scorching tale of remarkable kids shattered by tragedy and finally brought back together by love."-People

    Somehow, between their father's mysterious death, their glamorous soap-opera-star mother's cancer diagnosis, and a phalanx of lawyers intent on bankruptcy proceedings, the four Welch siblings managed to handle each new heartbreaking misfortune together.

    All that changed with the death of their mother. While nineteen-year-old Amanda was legally on her own, the three younger siblings-Liz, sixteen; Dan, fourteen; and Diana, eight-were each dispatched to a different set of family friends. Quick-witted and sharp-tongued, Amanda headed for college in New York City and immersed herself in an '80s world of alternative music and drugs. Liz, living with the couple for whom she babysat, followed in Amanda's footsteps until high school graduation when she took a job in Norway as a nanny. Mischievous, rebellious Dan, bounced from guardian to boarding school and back again, getting deeper into trouble and drugs. And Diana, the red-haired baby of the family, was given a new life and identity and told to forget her past. But Diana's siblings refused to forget her--or let her go.

    Told in the alternating voices of the four siblings, their poignant, harrowing story of un­breakable bonds unfolds with ferocious emotion. Despite the Welch children's wrenching loss and subsequent separation, they retained the resilience and humor that both their mother and father endowed them with--growing up as lost souls, taking disastrous turns along the way, but eventually coming out right side up. The kids are not only all right; they're back together.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 29, 2009
    ISBN9780307712394
    Unavailable
    The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir

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    Reviews for The Kids Are All Right

    4/5

    75 ratings15 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I read this book because I too grew up in Bedford New York and was quite happy I did (read it that is). At the beginning, when the roads leading from Fox Lane School (my high school) to Routh 684 were erroneously described as "dirt-packed" I worried that the authors were trying to convey an inaccurate image of the town, but I soon got over my (very small) problem as I fell in love with the book. It was just beautifully done, capturing how each of the four children managed after their parents died.
    • 2/5
      I actually picked this up thinking that this was a book that the movie of the same title was based on, and found out soon after that it wasn't. Still, it wasn't a horrible read. It started off well, but I felt that it fell apart at the end, and I remember getting a trifle bit irritated with some of the characters. All in all, nothing too memorable, but I'm all for supporting the book industry, so I'm glad I picked this book up at least for that. With that exception, I really could take it or leave it. Probably would not re-read or recommend to anyone. I do give them some points for having the whole family chip in, and did think it was an interesting way to give the reader multiple views of the same events. I also recommend, if you read the book, to check out the website they give you so you can get feedback from some of the characters that are mentioned in the book, but didn't get to relate their point of view. I feel that some of the characters are bad mouthed a bit on the cruel side, and it's nice that they get their chance to have a say.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the 4 parallel memoirs. They gave a broader view of what happened and it was amusing when they commented on the others.
    • 5/5
      Full disclosure: the authors are my partners' cousins. But I'm still recommending it! It's a compelling story, wonderfully told in four very distinct voices (Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" initially inspired this form). You get a good sense of the very different personalities of the four, but you can also see why they became so close, despite the separation. Some of Diana's passages are amazing: up there with the best memoir writing I've ever read. But all the writing is excellent: vivid and heartfelt and courageously honest. I found the book hard to put down, even though I knew most of the story already.
    • 4/5
      Told from alternating perspectives, this memoir is the story of the Welch kids -- four siblings growing up in an ideal setting until suddenly, their father dies in a car accident and leaves a pile of debt to their actress mother who doesn't know how to handle the bills. As the children all deal with the loss of their father in various ways, they are stunned to learn their mother has cancer. As orphans, they are sent away from one another, and their problems continue to mount.Each sibling has his/her own authentic voice in this heartbreaking, at times funny, story about kids growing up too fast on their own, desperately wanting to be together in a world that seems to conspire to keep them apart.
    • 5/5
      The Welch family has everything going for them. The father is a banker and their mother a soap opera star, and the two have four children. Their story is that of a foundation of straw, however, and it is remarkable to see how quickly everything can fall apart. When the father is killed it turns out that the family is actually massively in debt, something the mother has no idea how to deal with. Then, just a month later, the mother is diagnosed with a cancer that will take her life within three years, leaving the four children ranging in age from 19 to 8, parentless. Not only parentless, but with no family stepping up to the plate to take them in and basically no close family friends who are stable enough or willing enough to keep the kids together. This leaves the kids with families who are iffy at best. This is no Party of Five - when the parents pass away, the four children go their separate ways, the three youngest to separate families, some going years without seeing each other. I liked this book a lot and found it hard to put down. While it's true that some of the siblings have more of a background in writing than the others, I don't feel that it detracted from the reading as a whole. The story was interesting and the main characters flawed, but engaging. The authors are fairly honest in displaying their questionable choices, although they don't engage in as much self-reflection as I would have liked to read. While complaining about how people like Diana's new "family" perceive them, there's not a lot of though into whether there's reason for the family to feel that way or how a different set of choices might have resulted in different reactions. However, this was a minor flaw in a book with so many strengths. The siblings take turns telling the story chronologically, by telling different short chapters in their own voice. This has the air of siblings explaining family events at the dinner table - interruptions, clarifications, two people remembering the same situation in different ways. Definitely worth a read.
    • 4/5
      In The Kids are All Right, we have four siblings. As a group, they lost their father in an accident, and then watched their mother die after an arduous battle with cancer. The oldest, technically an adult, is in no way able or prepared to take the others in. Individually, they decide their own fates, determining and seeking where they want to go after their mother's death. This is their story.We all know that memory is not always reliable. We've all argued with family or old friends about what happened where and when. Those among us who are even remotely insightful come to realize that though sometimes our memories are wrong, often it's our perceptions and feelings that color them retroactively. That particular phenomenon is tackled head-on in this wonderful and uplifting story.Though I suspect this memoir is not quite as warts and all as it could've been, there's certainly exposure of enough warts to be sure that even though the memories differ, the story rings true. We see Diana and Dan struggle in their respective circumstances, Dan bouncing between private schools, living with a family friend, and crashing with Amanda; Diana living with a family whose mother seemed determined to erase her family in order to have a new child. The callousness of that woman is utterly horrifying, hidden well below the altruism of her actions.In the end, the siblings find their way to each other and, according to their website, remain close and well on the happy side of such an ordeal.
    • 4/5
      The Welch siblings were orphaned far too early. First their father died in a car accident, then, all too soon, their beautiful soap opera star mother was diagnosed with cancer. This book is the memories of each of the children, looking back at the early happy times, and the somewhat desperate ones when they were alone. There was nobody who was willing to take on four children, ranging in age from nineteen to eight, so they were split up, sent to live in the homes of different friends or family. Their story is told in alternating chapters, the siblings taking turns talking about what it felt like to them--where they were, what they remember from any given time.This is a very effective style--the reader really gets to know all four children. It's a quick read, and a very interesting and touching one. Recommended!
    • 4/5
      WOW! Just finished The Kids Are All Right By Diana, Liz, Amanda and Dan Welch. I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I could not put it down. Four kids growing up in an upper middle class family in NY. Horses, tennis, country clubs, big house, big family, big love. The stuff dreams are made of. Maybe too good to be true because it all falls apart. Sadly, so sadly their handsome loving father dies and not soon after their beautiful mother begins a long battle with deadly cancer. This is their story. It is superbly written in an easy to read fashion where each sibling speaks. At first the reader is trying to remember whos who (and I even looked at the photos for a visual) and very quickly I felt like I knew them. The memory is an interesting part of human life. We all see and remember things so differently. In addition siblings and parents of, constantly repeat how surprising it is that we can we all be raised in the same house and be so different. This book reminds us deep inside how alike we really are. Sisters and brothers are gifts. Your history is theirs and that never changes. Throughout your life, they are the people that know you best. If you nourish that relationship as you grow then you are able to appreciate that. Some people never have that opportunity. They all suffer through these tragedies but the beauty shines through their love for each other, no matter what. Life certainly does not seem fair and our paths continue to change but your memories, your childhood can be the anchor to all the chaos. (If you have ever been to a highschool reunion it is amazing what memories people have of you and your family. ) Going down memory lane must have been a tough trip for these four but man, they did it. Bravo to them.
    • 5/5
      This is an amazing book in numerous ways. First of all, the fact that four siblings could join together to write a book is impressive. Their stories, individually and together, are riveting. First they lose their father to a questionable car accident. Then they discover that he left their family $1 million in debt. Then, only a month after his funeral, their mom is diagnosed with cancer. They all are tossed about by changes in addresses and schools and with the needs of their dying mother. After her death, arrangements for where each of the kids are going are horrifyingly tangled up (the kids range from a college freshman to a 7 year old) and the family is torn apart for long years. People who were supposed to be helping were not, and at times the kids went through actual abusive situations as they tried to find a place to belong, at least long enough to survive growing up. This is the story of a family that circumstances tried to destroy but love and loyalty saved. It is impressive, affirming and almost impossible to put down. READ THIS BOOK!!!
    • 5/5
      This is an incredible read. It's heartbreaking and funny and full of so much hurt, loss and pain I had to put it down at times. Considering everything all four kids/adults go through it never reads like a plea for sympathy or a sob story. It's an amazing compilation of work on all the part of all four siblings and their stories are well told and well crafted. As someone who lost a parent at a fairly young age I related strongly to much of what they shared even when the circumstances were entirely different.
    • 4/5
      The Welches are the epitome of resilience, facing several tragedies in their lifetime but still managing to muddle through and become successful adults. Amanda, Liz, Dan and Diana Welch are orphaned after their father is killed in a car accident in 1982 and their mother succumbs to cancer in the winter of 1985. The children are sent to live with different family friends but manage to stay relatively close through the years. The memoir is told from each of the children's point of view and some of the memories vary slightly in their recollection. The book is at times humorous and heartbreaking but also inspirational. I love the way the kids stuck together no matter what and were always there for one another. Great book, 4 stars!
    • 4/5
      There are a few books that really get under your skin and this was one of them for me. I don’t know what I was expecting when I first started to read “The Kids are All Right” but it certainly wasn’t a sad walk down memory lane. That’s not to say I didn’t like this book because really I did. It just touched on some of the unhappy times in my own life.There are a lot of similarities I share with the Welch kids. I lost both my parents in a short span when I was very young. I came to depend on my siblings in way other families didn’t seem too. I think when families lose their parents young they can go one of two ways they either drift apart and become familiar acquaintances or they cling to each other like a life preserver. I think that was the greatest similarity between the Welch family and mine. They really did come to depend on each other to get through.This is a touching, heart wrenching, sometimes shocking, ultimately heartwarming story of how resilient we humans are. Told from all four kids points of view we see how each felt and dealt with the circumstances they were forced into. The thing that struck me the hardest were the number of adults that let these kids down. The assortment of uncaring, unkind, and unwilling adults who failed the children was just stunning to me. As they try to struggle to find their way there is quiet a bit of alcohol and drug use which can be unsettling but perhaps understandable, given their young age. But finally they are able to survive and thrive together as a family.I didn’t always enjoy reading this book. But I’m so glad I stuck through the emotionally raw parts. In the end I found these were four amazing strong capable people who are incredibly lucky to have each other. Having sibling who are also my friend and life savers I understand how precious that is. I finished this book knowing the kids really were going to be all right.
    • 4/5
      In The Kids are All Right, four siblings produce a fresh take on the familial memoir. This book billed for lovers of The Liar’s Club and The Glass Castle stands on its own against these genre standards, not so much for its dramatic subject matter, but more for the unique way it is constructed and the instant affinity the authors inspire. While peppering every page with nostalgic 80’s references, the Welch children (Amanda, Liz, Dan and Diana) alternate their points of view detailing their losses of virginity, their parents, and almost each other. No narrator lasts more than three pages and they proceed to correct each other’s recollections or share the same memory from another point of view. The result is a memoir which feels more like brothers and sisters recounting family lore at the kitchen table. This brisk conversational read reminds readers the importance of family and describes a deep love that helps these Kids weather affecting tragedy.
    • 4/5
      I think the first thing I liked about this book was its format. There is a note at the beginning of the book acknowledging that “memory is a tricky thing”. Instead of the four Welch siblings trying to hammer out the truth of each event in their lives, they acknowledge that each remembers things differently, and put their accounts side by side – sometimes even saying “I don’t remember it that way”. Each person’s account is given equal weight and credibility, which gives the reader a better picture of the dynamics of the family.Amanda, Liz, Dan and Diana Welch lost their father to a car accident and their mother to cancer within three years. Since Amanda, the oldest, was only 19, the younger children were split apart and all found different living situations. In this book, they detail the grief, confusion, fear, anger and some moments of joy that comprised that time in their lives.“…Diana stayed home (from the funeral). Mom thought she was too young for such sadness and instead brought a photograph of her and Dad to place on the casket. It had been take the summer before: Dad standing in the shallow end of our pool, waist deep in water, with Diana on his hip, her pale arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her freckled face smashed against his as if she wished she were clay and wanted to mold into him. They were both smiling so hard, it was surprising the frame could contain the happiness of that moment, surprising that it didn’t shatter into a million pieces, floating around the funeral home like dust.”The Welch children are forced to grow up and assume adult responsibilities far too fast due to the death of their father and cancer of their mother. Each tries to take on the role they feel they should perform in their family, yet their family is not something that they recognize – especially once their mother dies and they are separated. It’s hard to know who to feel more sympathy for – the older kids who know what’s happening and the fearful possibilities of the future, or the younger kids who haven’t had as much time as a complete family and who feel lost without much understanding of what’s going on.Liz takes on much of the care of her mother as she battles cancer. “She pulled my own hand to her chest and winced. I wondered what hurt more, the sickness that was consuming her or the realization that she scared me.” And, “Her mouth was saying “Keep out” without making a sound. I understood. It was no longer Mom. The monster within had won, and now it was only a matter of time.”Amanda, as the oldest, ends up handling much of the paperwork and finances, and ends up being the force that brings them all back together. Dan, who is 14 when his mother dies, has a long road to get back to a place he feels he belongs, with his sisters.And Diana, the youngest, tries to become part of a new family, the descriptions of which gave me chills. There is no physical abuse mentioned (that I recall) but some of the things that are said to her and the treatment she receives made my heart ache.A comforting part of her life becomes the weekly school lice check: “The sharp metal comb felt good scraping against my scalp, and the nurse’s breath on my neck reminded me of nice things like Mom talking out of the corner of her mouth when I kissed her or Auntie Eve scratching my back while we watched her soaps on TV.”And she is told to start calling her guardians Mom and Dad, “Now? I had to call them that now? So I said, “Um, can I have some nuts, Mom?” And Mrs. Chamberlain jumped up out of her chair and gave me a big hug, and her husband came, too, and he hugged me and I said, quietly, uncomfortably, “Thanks, Dad”. It was like walking off a cliff.”After reading this compelling true story, I was left with one very strong feeling. I hope, more than anything, that these four children have taken the pieces of their family and forged them together to be stronger. To build on what was left when they lost their parents too early, and with the strength that they were forced to find in themselves and in one another. They lost so much, and I can only hope that they’ve found much good since then.