We Are All Welcome Here

I'm very sure I've read at least half of Elizabeth Berg's novels. I've enjoyed her writing a lot--she is a gifted writer whose every day language hides many of humanity's truths. I don't remember any of her books very clearly, though--as much as I like her I've never been inclined to re-read her stuff. But I believe this one will stick to me long after I've returned it to the library--and I won't need to re-read it to remember it for a long time.

It's set in the mid-1960s, when polio and open racial discrimination were still very common. Diana, the 12-year old daughter of a polio victim (who's been paralyzed since she contracted the illness, in her 9th month of pregnancy, and dependent on a cumbersome respirator to boot), tells the story of an extraordinary summer in her and her mother's life.

Good things happen to both of them. Sad things too. But what made my tears fall was how their relationship changed--how Diana grew up, and understood the choices her mother made, and matured in her love for her mother. I knew for sure that Diana had grown up when she finally saw Peacie not as her tormentor but as someone who had loved her from the moment she was born.

I'm intrigued by the fact that this book is inspired by a true story--one of Ms. Berg's fans wrote and suggested that she write about her mother, who did fall victim to polio and had to live in an iron lung for a while but managed to raise 3 children and go on to have a career.