The Kids Are All Right: A Memoir (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
The Kids are Alright by Diana and Liz Welch with Dan and Amanda Welch is a memoir written by the 4 children who were orphaned in the 1980s. Watch this upper class family spiral downward. The book feels like it is a compilation of journal entries of the 4 kids, but they are layered in a way that makes it feel more like you are a fly on the wall at their private reunion. Their memories are brutally honest. It is quite obvious, the force that good parents are in holding a family together and caring for the emotional security of their children, when they are suddenly gone. I had a hard time relating to this family, and I didn’t find it that astonishing or funny, but it was well-written and interesting.4 Stars Heartbreaking in its circumstance, endearing in its honesty, "The Kids Are All Right" luckily ends in triumph for the Welch children. It is painful to read at times, with the accounts of their father's sudden death, mother's slow, painful death from cancer in the family home, the older children's struggles with drugs and alcohol in the aftermath of the loss, and the neglect and emotional abuse of Diana by her adoptive "family," but it is worth it. Despite the numerous challenges they faced as individuals and together, the Welches manage to overcome it all and reunite what's left of their family. The changing perspective keeps the story interesting, as do the wonderful bits of 70s, 80s, and 90s culture. Should not be missed.
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