Generation care

Generation care The new culture of caregiving

Jennifer N. Levin

Book - 2025

"More than 10 million Millennials are caring for aging parents before they've been able to fully launch their own careers and consider starting their own families, and that's not including the incalculable numbers of people affected by long COVID. Yet no one is naming this problem, talking about how it feels, or offering resources to ease the pressure of Millennial caregiver burnout. Jennifer N. Levin was 32 when her father was diagnosed with a rare degenerative illness. As she struggled with few resources and little support, she created Caregiver Collective, a national online support group for Millennial caregivers. Now Levin brings the wisdom from her own experience and that of her support group to Why Us?, a comprehensive ...look at this generation's culture of care. Filled with the voices of caregivers, expert commentary and research, and a roadmap to the solutions that can begin helping people now as well as build the policies of the future, Why Us? addresses: The urgency of caregiving: With earlier (and better) detection of disease, along with a rise in chronic illness, the average age of a care recipient is younger than before--as is the average caregiver age. The financial costs: Millennials spend a higher percentage of their income on caregiving and carry unprecedented student loan debt, adding to fiscally devastating out-of-pocket costs for care. Ambiguous loss for caregivers: Caregiving can dictate caregivers' lifestyle choices; Millennial caregivers may grieve the lives they 'thought' they'd have. The impact of COVID and long COVID: We're in a period of fluctuation with flex and remote work, which makes work and caregiving more compatible. How can we make sure that working caregivers' needs are honored? Strategies for getting help on the individual level and in relation to policy. We, as a culture and society, talk about caregiving broadly-it's something many of us may think, "not us" or "we'll figure that out later." But caregiving is an increasingly urgent crisis. Why Us? brings this crisis to the fore, illuminates the real stories and people who are most affected, underscores the need for shifts in policy and giving support where it is most needed, and sounds a clarion call for change"--

Saved in:
Place a Hold Save to List Email this

2nd Floor New Shelf Show me where

362.6/Levin
1 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
2nd Floor New Shelf 362.6/Levin (NEW SHELF) Checked In
Subjects
Aging parents > Care > United States.
Chronically ill > Care > United States.
Caregivers > United States > Social conditions.
Caregivers > Services for > United States.
Generation Y > United States > Social conditions.
Published
New York, NY : Balance [2025]
Language
English
Main Author
Jennifer N. Levin (author)
Physical Description
xx, 346 pages ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN
9780306832031
9780306832048
  • Note from the Author
  • Introduction
  • Part 1. Here We Are
  • Chapter 1. Who We Are: A Snapshot
  • Chapter 2. Identity CRisrs and Caregiving in Silence
  • Part 2. Family and Relationships
  • Chapter 3. Who We Care For
  • Chapter 4. Where We Live and Who We Live With
  • Chapter 5. Why Isn't My Sibling Helping? and Other Family Dynamics
  • Chapter 6. Romantic Relationships Are Hard and Will I Get to Have Kids?
  • Chapter 7. In Sickness and in Health: Caring for Your Significant Other
  • Chapter 8. The Sandwich Generation Gives Rise to the Multigenerational Caregiver
  • Chapter 9. Maintaining Friendships
  • Part 3. How We're Feeling and Why it Matters
  • Chapter 10. Caregiving and Our Mental Health
  • Chapter 11. We're Feeling Isolated and Alone
  • Chapter 12. We're Feeling Stressed
  • Chapter 13. We're Feeling Guilty
  • Chapter 14. We're Feeling Terrified and Traumatized
  • Chapter 15. We're Feeling Grief
  • Chapter 16. We're Feeling Pissed Off
  • Part 4. Are Career and Financial Goals a Myth For Us?
  • Chapter 17. Care Versus Career (or, The Career Compromise)
  • Chapter 18. We're Paying for It: The Care Cost Catastrophe Millennials Can't Afford
  • Part 5. Solutions
  • Chapter 19. The Changes We Need
  • Chapter 20. A Bath Bomb Does Not Fix This: Self-Care is Not the Solution
  • Chapter 21. How Our Workplace Can Help Us (and Themselves)
  • Chapter 22. How the Healthcare System Can Help Us
  • Chapter 23. How Systemic Changes Can Facilitate Necessary Care
  • What Comes Next? Our Constellations of Care
  • Acknowledgments
  • Helpful Resources
  • Notes
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

The word "caregivers" conjures up images of sixtysomething women tending to eightysomething parents. But Levin, a TV writer and journalist, is talking about fellow millennials, those born between 1980 and 1996. Throughout her guide to caregiving, Levin shares stories of her own (as an only child of divorced parents, she shouldered the burden of care for her father) and from others, with many sourced from her online Caregiver Collective. Because of the "deficit of support," millennials often dip into their own savings to hire nurse aides. They also put their own careers, love lives, and even friendships on hold. (They worry about being "Debbie Downers.") Levin wishes people would realize that caregivers just want someone to hear them and show compassion. Caregivers often feel stressed and isolated during sad, traumatic, and grief-inducing experiences. They also worry about money, as paying for health aides, travel costs, and time off from work add up. The Caregiver Collective helps millennials share concerns, advice (such as how to travel with someone in a wheelchair), and support. Levin's big message to her peers is that they're not alone.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

Similar Items