Book Review: We Are All Welcomed Here.
This book was truly inspirational for me. It demonstrates that no matter what disability or limitations we have, living life to it’s fullest is always possible. “We Are All Welcomed Here” is about a young mother, who in her last month of pregnancy contracts polio. She is taken to the hospital and delivers a healthy baby girl, but now she herself is left fully paralyzed from the neck down.
Her husband leaves her shortly after the birth and she is left to raise her child on her own, with the help of a black women caretaker, Peacie. The story takes place in Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis Presley. It’s the summer of 1964- the time of black slave’s freedom to vote and when having a debilitating disability was not widely accepted.
Paige Dunn, not being able to move any part of her body, is tough in spirit and with Peacie’s help she is able to raise her daughter. This book clearly shows the adversity someone with a disability goes through and the social outcasting bestowed upon them, as they have to fight daily to keep up with others. Paige was living daily with the knowledge that at any moment, if things were not done properly, she could lose her daughter and she was her whole life. Diana has, since her birth, watched her mother suffer in the “iron lung,” which was used to help her mother breathe. She has never felt her mother hold her, or had her mother do anything for her, but talk and instruct. Yet the bond between Paige and Diana is so strong- it’s truly amazing. Of course this being the right era and the birthplace of Elvis, it’s only expected that he make a small appearance. This I believe adds to the story a bit of comic relief and fantasy, to balance out the drama and realism of someone living with polio.
If you are looking for a great read with passion, love and heroism, this is the story for you!
We Are All Welcome Here
By: Elizabeth Berg
Random house publishing © 2006
ISBN# 1-4000-6161-X
By: Stefanie Leale © 2007 butyoudontlooksick.com
