Welcome to Gen Xandwich
Caregiving isn't meant to be done alone. Join me in sharing stories, resources, and ideas for improving how we care for our loved ones - and care for ourselves along the way.
Five years ago, my life changed dramatically. I had two children under five when my mother was hospitalized suddenly and almost didn’t make it. After several weeks in the hospital and a partial recovery, she went from living independently to Assisted Living, with the management of her finances, health, and life suddenly falling on my shoulders. Soon after, I also assumed guardianship for my disabled older brother and had a third child. My father began to struggle with dementia as well, his health declined, and sadly he passed away in February 2024. It’s been a long, uphill and humbling journey, to say the least, one that I’m still figuring out as I go.
When I learned of the term “sandwich generation” and began to read about others’ experiences juggling care for children and elder family members, I started to feel slightly less alone in this struggle, like there is a community out there (often silently) treading water to stay afloat, just like me. But it’s not discussed enough, there really aren’t spaces and places for us to learn from others, commiserate, share our stories and find some respite in community.
In my ‘day job’ as a social impact consultant, I’ve been increasingly involved and interested in the global care economy, an area that itself has really only begun to gain traction and attention post Covid-19. Figuring out how to improve how we care for children, elders and families with unpaid caregiving responsibilities is not only critical for the increasing number of Gen X and Millennials in a caregiving sandwich like mine, but it’s critical for advancing gender equity. The vast majority of unpaid caregivers are women, and the fact that both paid and unpaid caregiving is extremely undervalued is not a coincidence.
So, if you’re a Gen Xandwich-er like me, think you might be one at some point, love one of us, or care about the role of caregiving in global gender equity, I hope you’ll join me here. I plan to share others’ stories, learnings and research along with my own. I’d love it if you would subscribe and also share this publications with others who may be interested.
Thank you so much for being here!
In solidarity,
Anna