I have been writing about the politics and culture of parenting and caregiving for more than fifteen years. My work appears in publications like The Atlantic, The New York Times, Glamour, ELLE, TheWeek.com and elsewhere, and I was a former contributing writer at CNN.com and Slate. My book, When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others, came out April 2024 from Gallery Books. I live in Oakland, California, with my husband and two sons.
You can sign up for my newsletter, MADE WITH CARE, here.
Writer.
Author.
Speaker.
Curator &
CREATIVE DIRECTOR.
I really care about care…
So much, in fact, I wrote a book on the subject. In “When You Care,” (Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster), I dive into the social power and transcendent might of parenting and caregiving, and explore how exactly it was made invisible for soooooooo long. Through memoir and reporting, I attempt to untangle care from the patriarchy and envision a world in which we value care and women’s freedom and independence.
Overall, it’s a 300-page love letter to parents and caregivers for all you do for the world through the care you give others, and the wisdom and revelation, often hard-won, you experience by way of care.
“When You Care” has been featured in the Atlantic, the Nation, Glamour, Slate, CNN, Greater Good Science Center, Culture Study, Early Learning Nation, CBS News Los Angeles, Institute for Family Studies, and I was the subject of an episode of Death, Sex & Money.
I have spoken about care for events organized by New America, Ascend at the Aspen Institute, The Center for Christianity and Public Life, ThirdPath and numerous other organizations across the country.
“When You Care” was picked one of the “Best Books for Mom” by Katie Couric Media, was a spring 2024 pick for the Next Big Idea Book Club, and was on a number of “best of 2024” lists including one from New America and the Aspen Institute.
Praise for When You Care •
Praise for When You Care •
“A very-important book…even from the title you understand that caregiving is also care-getting. When we care of others we are obviously giving to them, but we get something very important, too. We are investing in deep human connection as that is as important to us the giver, as it is to the receiver.”
— Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America and author of Unfinished Business
“What an urgent and necessary book. Strauss understands care as labor that has been unremunerated, unrecognized, made practically invisible by a culture that fetishizes independence. She works to correct this undervaluation, elegantly arguing that the care we take of others is the very stuff of life, that it shapes the way we love, the space we take up in the world, our relationships with those we love and with ourselves."
Rebecca Traister, New York Times bestselling author of All the Single Ladies and Good and Mad
“When You Care is destined to be a modern classic. It presents a long overdue and urgent case for why embracing care is the key to unlocking our potential as a society. Strauss has made the invisible work of care visible and argues brilliantly for its value. A must read."
—Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play
“In this brilliantly argued and timely book, Elissa Strauss takes on centuries of theology, philosophy, science, economics and the pervasive cultural attitudes that have for too long diminished care as a woman’s burden, offered shallow praise, or erased care entirely from our history. Instead, she calls for a total reimagining of care, one that demands we see that it is in our relationships to one another, the way we give and receive care, that we are all able to be most fully human.”
Brigid Schulte, award-winning journalist, author of the New York Times bestselling Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, and director of The Better Life Lab at New America
Booklist
“In a world that values independence, [Strauss] asserts that caring for others has become largely underrated. But what if we looked at caring as an opportunity to bring meaning and purpose into others' lives? What if there were financial and emotional help for caregivers? [...] Strauss presents a convincing case for valuing and aiding in this vital task, as well as appreciating the lessons it teaches. This would be overdue recognition for many overworked and underpaid caregivers.”
Kirkus
“A deep exploration of caregiving’s potential to shape individuals and societies in positive ways…Specific, frank, refreshing observations about the impact of care.”
The nation
"Strauss...writes movingly about the value of intimate care—not only its economic value to society but also its psychological, philosophical, and even spiritual value for those who perform it.”