Caregiving for aging and dying parents can be tough for anyone, but it's even tougher when it forces you to confront longtime family dynamics of abuse. Sociologist Deborah Cohan blurs the lines between academic research on family caregiving and violence, and her own personal story about a father she calls both adoring and abusive. 

Her memoir is called Welcome to Wherever We Are: A Memoir of Family, Caregiving, and Redemption.

Deborah J. Cohan is a professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort. She earned her PhD in Sociology and Joint Master of Arts in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis University. Alongside her many academic publications, she is the author of the popular blog “Social Lights” for Psychology Today.

Full transcript available here at relationscapes.org.