As the daughter of career UN diplomats, journalist Jay Newton-Small grew up all over the world. But her world was upended when, on top of grieving her mother’s sudden death, she had to adjust to a new role as primary caregiver for her Alzheimer’s-stricken father. In today’s show, Jay talks about adjusting to that new role, the agony of moving her father into an assisted living facility and why she formed her startup, which is transforming care with the help of writers like her. Jay also shares why she chose to follow her bestselling book “Broad Influence” with a project that’s been percolating for years: a “joint memoir” about her father’s life in his prime and her experience of caring for him in the years before he died. On the eve of the Trump inauguration, we also discuss the cost of long-term care and what it will take for Congress to come up with a plan for addressing this crisis that is bankrupting families.
Link to Jay’s book: Broad Influence: How Women Are Changing the Way America Works
Contact Jay: newtonsmall@newamerica.org
Music: “Storytime” by Dlay | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive
Scattered: My Year As An Accidental Caregiver is available in paperback and eBook at
