73. Elissa Strauss on When You Care

In this conversation, Keltie is speaking with mom, essayist, and author, Elissa Strauss, about her book 'When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others'. Hear her and Keltie discuss:

• Elissa's personal experience with motherhood, including the parts she was most afraid of.
• The complexities of caregiving, particularly in the context of motherhood.
• How to navigate the challenge of maintaining self-identity while parenting.
• How social media is shaping perceptions of motherhood — and the messiness of real-world care.
• Why we need a broader understanding of care that transcends traditional roles and highlights the transformative potential of caregiving experiences.
• The magic of caring for others — and how we can experience this, no matter what we ultimately choose.

(1:40) Meet Elissa & hear about her path to motherhood

(10:38) Elissa's fears about caregiving as a parent compared to reality

(29:17) How formula feeding changed caregiving for her and her husband

(35:20) Fairytale vs. Nightmare depictions of motherhood

(46:20) Caregiving for childfree people

As mentioned in the show:Elissa is online at www.elissastrauss.com Pick up a copy of When You Care: simonandschuster.com/books/When-You-Care/Elissa-Strauss/9781982169275 Read Elissa's Substack at elissa.substack.com/ The piece Elissa's husband wrote about the impact of not breastfeeding their kids is here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/23/opinion/sunday/formula-breastfeeding-fatherhood.html Tune into the How the Wise One Grows episode featuring Elissa: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5IHtrBPfmBMO55I7Mz9sKm Tune into the How the Wise One Grows episode featuring Keltie: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Iw67drKUnzd1q1WjuzhUW?si=wCPBHC4vRa2Uwc-CGLO9dQ

Find Elissa on social media: @elissaavery on IG

facebook.com/elissa.strauss.7

linkedin.com/in/elissa-strauss-742720112/

About Elissa: Elissa Strauss is the author of When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others. She is a journalist, essayist, and opinion writer, and contributes to publications like the New York Times, The Atlantic, Glamour, and elsewhere.

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