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In Sickness and in Health: Love Stories from the Front Lines of America’s Caregiving Crisis
An urgent and deeply affecting account of America's failure to provide meaningful support to its chronically ill and disabled citizens and our resulting reliance on the unpaid caregiving labor of spouses and intimate partners.
When twenty-seven-year-old Laura Mauldin moved to New York for graduate school, she fell headlong into love. But just months into the relationship, her partner’s leukemia returned—and in a country without adequate systems for long-term care, Laura found herself quietly and devastatingly transformed from romantic partner to unpaid, full-time caregiver, fighting to keep the woman she loved alive in a system designed to let them both fall through the cracks.
Now a sociologist and professor of disability studies, Dr. Mauldin turns her private pain into a searing public investigation. To better understand her own experience, she speaks with couples across the country navigating the brutal, lonely fallout of chronic illness and disability. These are heartbreaking stories of love under strain — relationships full of extraordinary intimacy and resilience, but pushed to the edge by an ableist society that would rather look away from its most vulnerable citizens. At the heart of this investigation is a profound series of questions: What if love isn’t enough? What if our most cherished romantic ideals—commitment, sacrifice, “in sickness and in health” — have been weaponized to excuse the state from its responsibilities? And what happens to love when we ask it to do the work of an entire broken system?
Urgent, unflinching, and full of grace, In Sickness and In Health is a rallying cry for a radical reimagining of care—not as an individual act of devotion, but as a collective responsibility. In connecting the care crisis to the politics of love and intimacy, Mauldin reframes the conversation, urging us to build a world where no one is left to do the work of love alone.
When twenty-seven-year-old Laura Mauldin moved to New York for graduate school, she fell headlong into love. But just months into the relationship, her partner’s leukemia returned—and in a country without adequate systems for long-term care, Laura found herself quietly and devastatingly transformed from romantic partner to unpaid, full-time caregiver, fighting to keep the woman she loved alive in a system designed to let them both fall through the cracks.
Now a sociologist and professor of disability studies, Dr. Mauldin turns her private pain into a searing public investigation. To better understand her own experience, she speaks with couples across the country navigating the brutal, lonely fallout of chronic illness and disability. These are heartbreaking stories of love under strain — relationships full of extraordinary intimacy and resilience, but pushed to the edge by an ableist society that would rather look away from its most vulnerable citizens. At the heart of this investigation is a profound series of questions: What if love isn’t enough? What if our most cherished romantic ideals—commitment, sacrifice, “in sickness and in health” — have been weaponized to excuse the state from its responsibilities? And what happens to love when we ask it to do the work of an entire broken system?
Urgent, unflinching, and full of grace, In Sickness and In Health is a rallying cry for a radical reimagining of care—not as an individual act of devotion, but as a collective responsibility. In connecting the care crisis to the politics of love and intimacy, Mauldin reframes the conversation, urging us to build a world where no one is left to do the work of love alone.
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Hardcover
Published February 10, 2026
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3727 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 14, 2026
This book was fine. It didn't hit me deeply emotionally nor did it blow my mind with stats and insights into the world of caregiving. I think it was maybe trying to do a little of both. I did learn things and I did feel for the caregivers and those being cared for. I appreciated that Mauldin shows the extent that caregiving takes over ones life and that the system is bullshit. There were moments (on race and disability) where I think Mauldin did her best but didn't fully capture the nuances.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Because this is a pre-publication review, I want to be thoughtful and thorough. This is a topic that is very close to my own life, and I was eager to hear the voices of others who have walked through similar situations.
Mauldin's book is clearly an outworking of both her own personal experiences (as a caregiver to a girlfriend with leukemia) and as an academic in the field of social studies (social work? social justice?) and disability studies. Unfortunately, I don't think those dual roles serve the book well. If Mauldin had written a memoir and focused on her own story, or if she hadn't personally walked through the subject she was studying and could separate her interviewee's lives from her own experience, the book--either iteration--would have been much stronger. As it is, it seems pretty clear that Mauldin is attempting to work through her own trauma and guilt, and she can only see other caregivers' stories through the lens of her own experience.
It's a book that is heavy on feelings and outrage and ivory tower academic identity politics, and is happy to ignore its own inconsistencies or any facts that don't fit the narrative that the author seems compelled to create as a way of coping with her own guilt.
Ultimately, I found myself disappointed. This was not the book I was hoping for--one that would say, "You in the trenches of caregiving and illness--I see you. You are not alone. Be encouraged, even in terrible hardship." Instead, it left a lingering despair and a bitter finger-pointing in its wake. It is understandable, and I do want to extend compassion to Mauldin, who (spoiler) can't seem to forgive herself for abandoning her girlfriend at the end of her life and leaving her alone to die. She is honest with the fact that she is still crushed under the guilt of that decision, so it makes sense that she is desperate to blame anyone else. But that desperation clearly impacts her ability as a researcher to take a step back and look at the broader picture with clarity and accuracy.
It is possible that there are those who are in the caregiving trenches who would find this book helpful--again, it's very heavy on feelings, and sometimes, it seems, Big Feelings are what readers want out of a book. But it's not one that I would recommend. I hope that Mauldin found some measure of comfort through the process of writing the book, and will be able to find true healing.
(And, a very small note that will hopefully be corrected in the final publication--in one section Mauldin mixed up the alias of one of her subjects, and he is referred to by two different names, which led to a very confusing couple minutes as I flipped back and forth trying to decide if there were two men or three in the relationship.)
Mauldin's book is clearly an outworking of both her own personal experiences (as a caregiver to a girlfriend with leukemia) and as an academic in the field of social studies (social work? social justice?) and disability studies. Unfortunately, I don't think those dual roles serve the book well. If Mauldin had written a memoir and focused on her own story, or if she hadn't personally walked through the subject she was studying and could separate her interviewee's lives from her own experience, the book--either iteration--would have been much stronger. As it is, it seems pretty clear that Mauldin is attempting to work through her own trauma and guilt, and she can only see other caregivers' stories through the lens of her own experience.
It's a book that is heavy on feelings and outrage and ivory tower academic identity politics, and is happy to ignore its own inconsistencies or any facts that don't fit the narrative that the author seems compelled to create as a way of coping with her own guilt.
Ultimately, I found myself disappointed. This was not the book I was hoping for--one that would say, "You in the trenches of caregiving and illness--I see you. You are not alone. Be encouraged, even in terrible hardship." Instead, it left a lingering despair and a bitter finger-pointing in its wake. It is understandable, and I do want to extend compassion to Mauldin, who (spoiler) can't seem to forgive herself for abandoning her girlfriend at the end of her life and leaving her alone to die. She is honest with the fact that she is still crushed under the guilt of that decision, so it makes sense that she is desperate to blame anyone else. But that desperation clearly impacts her ability as a researcher to take a step back and look at the broader picture with clarity and accuracy.
It is possible that there are those who are in the caregiving trenches who would find this book helpful--again, it's very heavy on feelings, and sometimes, it seems, Big Feelings are what readers want out of a book. But it's not one that I would recommend. I hope that Mauldin found some measure of comfort through the process of writing the book, and will be able to find true healing.
(And, a very small note that will hopefully be corrected in the final publication--in one section Mauldin mixed up the alias of one of her subjects, and he is referred to by two different names, which led to a very confusing couple minutes as I flipped back and forth trying to decide if there were two men or three in the relationship.)
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This book hit me hard in the best and most necessary way. In Sickness and In Health puts words to an experience so many families live through in isolation, without guidance, support, or even acknowledgment. Reading it, I kept thinking about my dad and what he went through caring for my mom. For several years, it was a brutal life for both of them physically, emotionally, and financially. He needed support he never got, and no one teaches you how to care for a loved one when the circumstances are truly dire.
Laura Mauldin’s writing is compassionate, clear-eyed, and deeply humane. She shows how love can be incredibly strong and still be pushed past its limits by a system that relies on unpaid caregivers to fill massive gaps in care. This isn’t just a personal story. It’s an urgent examination of how our society fails chronically ill and disabled people and the partners who step in because there is no other choice.
What makes this book so powerful is that it validates the loneliness, exhaustion, and quiet grief that caregivers often carry while also calling for something bigger and better. It made me feel seen, and it made me angry in the right way. I wish this book had existed years ago for my dad, but I’m grateful it exists now. It’s essential reading for anyone who has cared for someone they love or who wants to understand the true cost of our broken care system.
Heartfelt thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.
Laura Mauldin’s writing is compassionate, clear-eyed, and deeply humane. She shows how love can be incredibly strong and still be pushed past its limits by a system that relies on unpaid caregivers to fill massive gaps in care. This isn’t just a personal story. It’s an urgent examination of how our society fails chronically ill and disabled people and the partners who step in because there is no other choice.
What makes this book so powerful is that it validates the loneliness, exhaustion, and quiet grief that caregivers often carry while also calling for something bigger and better. It made me feel seen, and it made me angry in the right way. I wish this book had existed years ago for my dad, but I’m grateful it exists now. It’s essential reading for anyone who has cared for someone they love or who wants to understand the true cost of our broken care system.
Heartfelt thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A devastating read. If you are a caregiver for someone who is disabled or chronically ill, be forewarned that reading this book, no matter how poignant and relevant it may be, might leave you feeling worse about your status in life, rather than better. The book is told through the eyes of those who are suffering with chronic disease and disability, and how their lives look drastically different from the lives that they had originally envisioned for themselves. At the same time, we are provided the stories of those who are doing the caregiving, and the physical, emotional, and financial toll that it places on each of them. The author also shares her firsthand knowledge of caring for her own partner who also had a longterm and debilitating illness. Also addressed in the book is what the author perceives as the reasons for the pervasive failure of care in the government specifically, and the culture at large, and what she sees as a way to improve what is clearly a dire situation in our healthcare system. I disagree with both her assumptions and her solutions, but I applaud her desire to open up the conversation. We should all weigh in and contribute to ways that we all can, and should, help when we someone struggling under the weight of caring for a loved one. ** I was provided an ARC by the publisher, but all views are my own.
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December 19, 2025Thanks Ecco for the gifted ARC book.
Review to come.
Review to come.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
The book lacks appeal.
February 13, 2026
6⭐️
Shows the complexity of love in relationships that intersect with disability and care
Shows the complexity of love in relationships that intersect with disability and care
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews