The past belongs to everyone who was there. What do you remember? ADD YOUR STORY
“Perfect is boring.” Well, 1983 certainly wasn't boring for the Welch family. Somehow, between their handsome 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. But all that changed with the death of their mother. While nineteen year-old Amanda was legally on her own, the three younger siblings—Liz, 16; Dan, 14 and Diana, 8—were each dispersed to a different set of family friends.
Told in the alternating voices of the four siblings, this memoir tells their poignant, harrowing story of 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.
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For those of you who have read the book, you know that I had a real thing for him. Even I haven’t figured out why I loved him and his music so much back in the day. But I did, and you know what? I still do. The new Dolls album is great! I’ve been wearing it out.
So, when I saw that they were coming to Norfolk last spring, I had to go.
Since Jesse and I had our son Harvey, I think a lot about the memories we are making for him. When I see Jesse kiss Harvey’s soft belly, and smile at the uproarious giggle-fest that inevitably ensues, I wonder if Harvey will recall the feeling of that prickly mustache tickling his stomach.
Celebrating this Father’s (and Grandfather’s) Day with Jesse and his dad Phil, I got to thinking about my own dad, and what an amazing, loving person he was. I think it says a lot that though I only knew the guy for four years, I can still remember the feeling of his cheek against mine.
For the past several months, in association with the New York Foundling, Liz has been running a workshop for kids in foster care who are living apart from their siblings. In honor of May being National Foster Care Month, the Foundling invited us to do a fundraiser reading to help them continue programs like Liz’s. So, on May 4th, all the Welches convened in NYC to share a stage with the young writers in Liz’s workshop. But first, we all met up for dinner at Mickey Mantle’s to get acquainted. Read more…