THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

In alternating monologues, four siblings tell their story of love, loss, redemption and reconciliation.

In 1983, the Welch children—19-year-old Amanda, 16-year-old Liz, 14-year-old Dan and eight-year-old Diana—were living happy, sheltered lives in a New York City suburb. But this idyllic existence was soon shattered by the death in a car accident of their businessman father, leaving them not only grief-stricken but saddled with debt. Their mother, an actress in soap operas, tried to hold things together but was soon diagnosed with cancer and died three years later after a long, agonizing battle with the disease. Left on their own, the Welch children took very different paths of self-discovery and struggled to maintain the often frayed bonds among them. Amanda escaped to a bohemian life as an NYU student; Liz traveled the world; Dan became lost, first as a stoned-out slacker and then as a mean drunk. Diana was left in the custody of a family whose mother subjected her to endless psychological abuse, while the other siblings tried to convince themselves she was fine. “To be honest, I never thought much about Diana,” writes Dan. “I just assumed she was happy and well. I don’t think I could have handled imagining it any other way.” Diana felt abandoned and, as children do, blamed herself for her feelings. The four eventually reunited, but it was through events they responded to rather than created. Each sibling speaks in his or her own words, as they describe their thoughts and actions as the events unfolded. It’s a love-filled but often fraught dialogue, and the reader is a privileged silent witness to their testimony.

A brutally honest book that captures the journey of four people too young to face the challenges they nevertheless had to face.