On this edition of Your Call, sociologist and professor of disability studies Laura Mauldin discusses her new book, In Sickness and In Health: Love Stories from the Front Lines of America's Caregiving Crisis.
Interweaving her own experience as a full-time caregiver to her partner at age 27 with the stories of couples across the country navigating the challenges of chronic illness and disease, she argues that we must reimagine our care systems so no one is left to navigate caregiving alone.
She writes: "Now, with an estimated fifty-three million family caregivers in the United States, the sheer magnitude of the caregiving crisis stuns. We’ve chosen to abandon disabled people and caregivers by having minimal government programs for long-term care. Instead, we let our profit-driven healthcare system benefit from the millions of family caregivers who step up to bear the weight for free."
Guest:
Laura Mauldin, Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry at the University of Connecticut, and author of In Sickness and In Health: Love Stories from the Front Lines of America's Caregiving Crisis
Ami, educator and full-time caregiver to her partner of 45 years, who is experiencing advanced cognitive decline and other serious medical conditions
Resources:
PBS: How people with disabilities could bear the burden of Medicaid funding cuts
CalMatters: California students with disabilities face ‘terrifying’ special ed cuts after Trump changes
The 19th: The number of family caregivers is surging
The Guardian: ‘I don’t know how we would survive’: caregivers speak of fears over upcoming Medicaid cuts
Well Spouse Association: Support for Spousal Caregivers
Family Caregiver Alliance: Support for Family Caregivers
