Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It

Opening with a moving but brutally honest testament to her mother’s last days, this book offers deep witness to end-of-life caregiving. Activist Kenway (The Truth About Modern Slavery) describes her own and others’ lived caregiving experiences and explores the larger social ramifications. She duly notes that care of older loved ones will become the new childcare but with fewer younger people left to assume that role. Rather than continue to deny this inevitability, this book offers courage to face this future with a more open mind and meaningful preparations. This broad-minded approach acknowledges the stigma current caregivers suffer from, along with their exhaustion, isolation, and lack of support. Changing the status quo involves realizing that caregiving affects everyone, that it is not easily routinized or monetized, and that illness and consequent support is erratic and unpredictable. Invoking concepts of “kinning” (revising what family means) and “commoning” (sharing collective responsibilities), the author proposes a model that encompasses flexibility, fluidity, and choices for both the terminally ill and those who provide care for them.