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Laura Mauldin's rule of thumb is that if you think you're caregiving, you probably are.
The University of Connecticut professor and author has a new book that just been released In Sickness and in Health, where an urgent argument is made that America’s caregiving crisis is not a private family matter, but a structural and political failure.
Mauldin isn't just a scholar in the field. She also speaks from personal experience about the impact of caregiving -- as well as how society views and values it -- on both caregivers and those that they care for.
It may not have been the birthday present then 32-year-old Laura Mauldin wanted to buy herself, but purchasing long-term care insurance was something she knew she needed. Mauldin, an associate professor in UConn’s Department of Social and Critical Inquiry, had been caring for her sick partner the five years prior, watching as cancer destroyed the promise of a long life. “It’s not about being morbid, rather it’s about recognizing the inevitability of a completely typical, expectable part of life,” Mauldin says of her advanced planning. “Why not just go ahead and in a neutral way have a plan? Then it’s there, you don’t have to worry, and you can feel more prepared.” A detailed account of her caregiving experience is the launching point for her new book, “In Sickness and in Health,” released this month by HarperCollins’ Ecco Press, in which she tells the story of a handful of couples from around the country who she came to know over years of spending time with them, oftentimes days and nights. “I grew to love these people and to care about them,” she says. “Their stories tell us something bigger about our culture, about our society, and about our choices around care policy and care systems. Theirs are the hidden stories that are going on behind millions of closed doors.” In her quest to bring discussions about caregiving to the light of day, Mauldin sat with UConn Today recently to talk about the different forms that caregiving can take, the result of absent social safety nets, and how ableism permeates the culture. February 2026 - UConn Today Drawing from her new book, Mauldin blends her personal experience with sociological research to show how love, marriage, and devotion are routinely forced to compensate for weak public policy, limited Medicaid support, and a culture shaped by ableism.
Her work reframes caregiving as essential labor, deeply gendered, largely invisible, and profoundly political, and challenges the notion that “love is enough” in a system that offers far too little support.
It’s an old adage: when people get married, they promise to stick together “in sickness and in health.” But that’s easier said than done when you’re caregiving for a spouse or long-term partner, when systemic failures often lead to burnout. In her new book, In Sickness and in Health: Love Stories from the Front Lines of America’s Caregiving Crisis, University of Connecticut professor Laura Mauldin explores the relationships between caregivers and their disabled and sick spouses, and the underlying lack of structural support in the US that makes unpaid care an inescapable feature of most such relationships. The topic is personal for her: Maudlin’s partner’s leukemia came out of remission as they were getting closer in 2006. “Falling in love with J had called upon me to increasingly fill a role that required meeting nearly every one of her needs,” Mauldin writes in her introduction. “This was more than just providing emotional support when the person you love is suffering.” J passed away in 2010. I spoke to Mauldin about crafting this book based on her lived experiences, how systems fail both disabled people and their caregivers, and what is at stake with Medicaid cuts exacerbating the damage to an already broken system. February 2026 - Mother Jones Dr. Laura Mauldin, an associate professor in the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry at the University of Connecticut, blends rigorous scholarship with lived experience to challenge prevailing assumptions about caregiving, disability, and public policy. Her work exposes how cultural norms and policy gaps intersect to offload care onto private homes, obscuring the true costs of care and the human toll of under-resourced support systems.
She is available to speak with media - simply click on her icon now to arrange an interview today.
A recent study authored by the University of Connecticut's Mark Urban found that close to one third of species across the globe would be at risk of extinction by the end of the century if greenhouse gases continue to increase at current levels.
His study, published in the journal Science, looked at more than three decades of biodiversity and climate change research.
The findings are alarming.
The study found that if global temperatures rise to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) above the pre-industrial average temperature, exceeding the target of the Paris Agreement, extinctions would rapidly accelerate — especially for amphibians; species in mountain, island and freshwater ecosystems; and species in South America, Australia and New Zealand. Earth has already warmed about 1.8 F (1 C) since the Industrial Revolution. Climate change causes shifts in temperatures and precipitation patterns, altering habitats and species interactions. For instance, warmer temperatures have caused monarch butterfly migration to mismatch with the blooming of plants they pollinate. Many animal and plant species are shifting their ranges to higher latitudes or elevations to follow more favorable temperatures. While some species might adapt or migrate in response to changing environmental conditions, some can't survive the drastic environmental changes, resulting in population declines and sometimes extinction. Global assessments have predicted rising extinction risks for over a million species, but scientists have not clearly understood how exactly this growing risk is linked to climate change. The new study, published Thursday (Dec. 5) in the journal Science, analyzed over 30 years of biodiversity and climate change research, encompassing over 450 studies of most known species. If greenhouse gas emissions are managed in accordance with the Paris Agreement, nearly 1 in 50 species worldwide — an estimated 180,000 species — will be at risk of extinction by 2100. When the climate model's temperature is increased to a 4.9 F (2.7 C) rise, which is predicted under current international emissions commitments, 1 in 20 species around the world would be at risk of extinction. Hypothetical warming beyond this point makes the number of species at risk rise sharply: 14.9% of species were at risk of extinction under a 7.7 F (4.3 C) warming scenario, which assumes high greenhouse gas emissions. And 29.7% of all species would be at risk of extinction under a 9.7 F (5.4 C) warming scenario, a high estimate, but one that is possible given current emissions trends. The increase in the number of species at risk increases steeply beyond the 1.5 C warming target, study author Mark Urban, a biologist at the University of Connecticut told Live Science. "If we keep global warming to below 1.5 C, in accordance with the Paris Agreement, then the [extinction] risk from today to 1.5 C is not a large increase," Urban said. But at a 2.7 C rise, the trajectory accelerates. Species in South America, Australia and New Zealand face the greatest threats. Amphibians are the most threatened because amphibians' life cycles depend heavily on weather, and are highly sensitive to shifting rainfall patterns and drought, Urban said. Mountain, island and freshwater ecosystems have the most at-risk species, likely because these isolated environments are surrounded by inhospitable habitats for their species, making it difficult or impossible for them to migrate and seek more favorable climates, he added. Limiting greenhouse gas emissions can slow warming and halt these growing extinction risks, but understanding which species and ecosystems are most affected by climate change can also help target conservation efforts where they're needed most. Urban hopes the results have an impact on policymakers. "The main message for policymakers is that this relationship is much more certain," Urban said. "There's no longer the excuse to do nothing because these impacts are uncertain." December 5, 2024 - Live Science This is an important topic, and if you're a journalist looking to learn more, we can help.
Mark Urban is an international award-winning scientist; a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the Arden Chair Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at UConn; and a global expert on climate change impacts on nature.
He is available to speak with media - simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Did you know that there are approximately 180,000 moth and butterfly species living in California’s Mojave Desert?
Moths, the winged insects famous for eating sweaters and flocking to lights at night, are a mysterious and captivating species for entomologists like UConn's David Wagner.
He was part of a research study that was documented recently in The Washington Post.
Each night in the desert, vast clouds of sphinx moths, some spanning the palm of your hand, speed between night-blooming flowers, sipping nectar. Ethmia, tiny black moths with spots shaped like musical notes, emerge from the dark like fairies. Thousands of geometrid moths, no bigger than your fingernail, slip by cloaked in desert hues from rusty reds to pale green. To witness them, I traveled deep into the Mojave Desert this spring with a team from the California Academy of Sciences working to ensure the survival of lepidoptera. For two days, we beat bushes, placed traps and collected thousands of moths to see what lives there — and what can be saved. Moths have inhabited our planet for at least 200 million years. But the conservation status of about 99 percent of moth species remains unknown. Some, like sphinx moths, remain abundant. Many others are probably being pushed to the brink by development, land-use changes, pesticides and pollution, and rising temperatures. “It’s not this unseen force,” says David Wagner, an entomologist at the University of Connecticut. “It’s humans.” Over two nights in the desert, I discovered just how easy it is to fall in love with an unloved insect. And why “mothing” may be the best way to discover the miracle of biodiversity in your own backyard. On the arid western edge of the Mojave, where the desert floor rises to meet the San Bernardino Mountains, sits the 306-acre Burns Piñon Ridge Reserve. We venture out in the morning with beating sticks. Hitting the branches of small oaks and rabbitbrush deposits a treasure trove of insect life into collectors made out of fabric: Crane flies, green lacewings, spiders, walking sticks and caterpillars that will one day grow into moths. Wagner and Chris Grinter, an entomologist and collection manager at the California Academy of Sciences, will catalogue the most interesting ones. The academy houses a collection of 18 million insects, 700,000 of which are butterflies and moth specimens. Many are still waiting for scientists to identify and name them. The plight of moths and caterpillars has fascinated Wagner since childhood. After 20 years, he is no less enthusiastic — or worried. Wagner traveled to Burns Piñon to help finish his magnum opus, the successor to his 500-page guide to eastern North America’s caterpillars. The guide for the west will probably run more than 1,500 pages, a testament to the region’s remarkable biodiversity. As the sun sets, the mood is anticipatory. We head out into the desert to set our traps and see what moths we’ll discover. “The nice thing,” says Grinter, “is moths will come to you.” The article is an amazing read - and the link is above.
And if you are interested in knowing more about moths, insects, or the fascinating field of entomology, then let us help.
Dr. David Wagner is an expert in caterpillars, butterflies, moths, and insect conservation, and he's commented extensively on the current decline of insects worldwide. Click his icon to arrange an interview today.
