Recommendation: Emily Kenway's 'Who Cares: The hidden crisis of caregiving and how we solve it'

Published 27 April 2023

For the very first time, one book has managed to neatly articulate and expose the realities of being a carer. It is truly disturbing to read all these truths about what I have been through and what I continue to experience, fully stacked, compounding, and resonating so loudly. A thorough evidence-based approach to kin-caring. Thank you Emily Kenway!

I read this book in July 2023, it was a compelling page-turner for me because it shared numerous potential reasons why things are the way they are for Carers. Plus, I wanted to find out what possible solutions she would offer, to enable us to be seen, valued, and embraced, not marginalised in society.

I encourage you to read it for yourself, whether you’re a Carer or not. A key read for me was ‘Chapter 4 On Family: Wise Women and the Practice of Kinning.’

Each truth is treated with care in terms of explaining the situation and extended beyond her own journey of caring for her mother (who was suffering from cancer & receiving treatment). Statements encompass more than one country, more than one, opinion, and a multitude of meaningful references. She presents each point logically, substantiated by evidence and historical facts. The eloquence of the narrative guides our education and highlights how people's views differ and why each carer’s experience is so unique. Irrefutable, heart sink, corroborating insights.

As a Carer, will you feel vindicated or perhaps frustrated at the compounding stack of injustices?

Like Emily Kenway’s book, I hope this website can comfort Caregivers and offer community and resonance. For those not yet caregiving, the resources and experiences voiced can provide a window to the struggles and challenges of caregivers. These may help you prepare for what could lie ahead.

This is the book that gives me the premise to do what I’m doing with this website. Until this book was published, I couldn’t put all the pieces of the jigsaw together. The ‘forensic research’ that she has accomplished here, lays the evidence, feelings and justifications out in the open, exposed for everyone to see.

While I hope that governments and policymakers invest in short-term fast actions for meaningful, long-term social change, I have greater faith and belief in how one or two people can help each other support each other: our chosen care team.

Here are 3 video/audio interviews Emily did around the time of the book launch April 2023:

The Fearless Caregiver April 30 2023

Carers UK June 2023. July 14 2023 (Where I was first introduced to her work)

The hidden crisis of caregiving and how we solve it | Emily Kenway | Humanists UK Convention 2023

In conversation with Head of Humanist Care Clare Elcombe Webber, writer and activist Emily Kenway uses in-depth research and the stories of real carers to explore what care is like today, and outline a vision for a better way forward. In this session she draws from her book 'Who cares: the hidden crisis in caregiving, and how we solve it' – recently selected as a finalist for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing

Per the Amazon review on the UK website:

A ground-breaking book lifting the lid on the hidden side of the 'care crisis' - helping us reimagine our world to put caregiving at its heart

Deftly blending memoir with forensic research and the voices of caregivers from as far afield as Norway, Nepal and Nebraska, Who Cares is an essential read for anyone who has ever cared for, or will receive care from, another person - which is to say, for everyone.

Have you read the book? What was your most thought-provoking takeaway?