Stories from Everyday Caregivers

Nobody plans to become a caregiver. It usually just... happens. A diagnosis, an accident, a moment that shifts the shape of your life. If you hang around the planet long enough it WILL happen, and the sudden learning curve can be overwhelming.

From the outside, caregiving can look like a list of responsibilities: managing medications, planning meals, helping someone move through their day safely. Time, energy, and coordination, often at the expense of the caregiver are fundamentals. And then there’s the emotional aspect, the relationship, the quiet presence of attention and love. Being in a hard moment and not trying to fix it. Maintaining dignity while helping with the most vulnerable parts of being human.

Here's something: 1 in 4 people around you are caring for a loved one right now. A neighbor. your coworker. The stranger who seems distracted, worn at the edges while holding someone else together, carrying more than they can say. They're doing this work behind the scenes, in the margins of their own lives, not knowing where or how to ask for help, or even if it's worth asking.

I know this because it’s personal to my family. And as a photographer, my impulse is to show what’s happening right in front of us that’s overlooked and unseen, with the goal of putting attention on what needs to be witnessed and talked about. This is the start of a broader conversation.