Скачать или смотреть EP 106 - Gen-X as Caregivers

Gen X as Caregivers: A Conversation with Steve Mullen

By Richard Wexler, Caring in America Podcast

Twenty years ago, I never imagined I’d spend 14 years caring for all four of our parents — while raising two small kids, working full time, and learning as I went. That experience eventually led to this podcast and to the creation of A Plan to Age, our nonprofit foundation helping families prepare before a crisis hits.

In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Mullen, co-host (along with his wife Jennifer) of Caregiving Gen X Style. Their story will sound familiar to a lot of you — juggling work, children, and aging parents, all while trying to make sense of a system that wasn’t built to handle what so many Americans now face.

When Caregiving Happens All at Once

For Steve and Jennifer, caregiving hit like a tidal wave.
In one summer, his mother-in-law needed major surgery, followed by his own mother’s serious back surgery that left her in a wheelchair. “It all just kind of happened over three or four months,” Steve told me. Out of that stressful season — and a candid afternoon at a sports bar — came the idea for their podcast, Caregiving Gen X Style.

Now three years in, their show speaks directly to Generation X caregivers — those roughly ages 45 to 60 — who are caring for parents while still raising kids or working full-time. “We wanted people to know they’re not alone,” Steve said. “We were lucky to have each other, but not everyone has that.”