Who Cares

FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023

Shines a valuable light on the often self-imposed invisibility of these lives ... a compassionate tribute to her mother, and an impassioned call to action. I defy anyone not to weep at their own future when reading this important book. The Sunday Times
This is a beautiful book. It's painful to read but extremely refreshing in its acknowledgement of facts as sure as gravity: we will age, get sick and die. It probably won't be pretty, and we'll need care ourselves and/or have to give care to those we love. And all the while capitalism will punish us for both needing and giving care. Emily Kenway's story of caring for her mother plus her exhaustive research into the subject of care at large results in a visceral, unsparing picture of our current situation. It also offers prescriptions and possibilities for the future. Her mother would be proud of the book and I am grateful for it. I can't recommend it highly enough. -- Rob Delaney, author of A HEART THAT WORKS
A heartbreaking, beautiful and necessary read. Emily Kenway has written an eloquently vulnerable book that is part memoir and part polemic, and every page of it an act of love. Who Cares delves deep into the brutal realities of providing care in a world designed around the needs of capital, into Kenway's own story of caregiving for her fiercely independent mother as well as stories of caregivers from around the world, in order to show us how much our world would need to change in order to truly value and centre care. -- Sarah Jaffe, author of WORK WON'T LOVE YOU BACK
Emily Kenway deftly blends heart-breaking personal stories with facts, figures and policy analysis to show why we cannot go on expecting so much of the family and friends of people who need care - which will mean all of us - and offers a radical vision of how we might do things better in future. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care should be the first to read it. -- Lady Brenda Hale, author of SPIDER WOMAN: A LIFE
The crisis of care affects us all, and Emily Kenway's astute, touching and insightful book gives us the power to tackle it head on with the fairness and compassion that is so desperately needed. Everyone needs to read this book. -- Victoria Bateman, author of THE SEX FACTOR and NAKED FEMINISM
Almost all of us will become carers at some point in our lives. In this important and deeply moving book Emily Kenway shares the story of caring for her mother, showing how we could seed the collective change we need - from new practices of kinning to shifts at work and within the state. -- Hilary Cottam, author of RADICAL HELP
A powerful, enlightening journey through the world of caregiving, unique in its capacity to both show its cost for those, mostly women, who provide it, and imagine alternatives to the way it is presently organized. Inspired by a direct personal experience, as well as many testimonies and insightful historical research, the book denounces the social acceptance of the sacrifice of life millions of women are making to not abandon their kin when no longer self-sufficient or dying. Courageous in its detailed articulation of what caregiving actually entails, and the loss and suffering involved in this work, this is a book we all must read. For as Kenway convincingly argues, the crisis it reveals is something we will all experience, sooner or later in our lives -- Silvia Federici, author of CALIBAN AND THE WITCH
Who Cares is a vitally important book, but it's also a book full of heart, imagination and, yes, care. Deeply moving and rigorously unsentimental, Emily Kenway's book doesn't just report on the current dearth of support for caregivers but focuses on solutions and creative possibilities. Care should be at the heart of our society, and our politics, and Who Cares does a wonderful job showing us why. -- Jon McGregor, author of LEAN FALL STAND
'A striking, honest and intimate page-turner... Shines a light on the invisible care that keeps the world turning, and the desperate need to value and recognise its contributions.' Dazed Magazine
A powerful, coherent and shocking account of the unfolding crisis . . . Emily Kenway's moving story and clear-sighted argument for change are a rallying cry we all should heed TLS
PRAISE FOR THE TRUTH ABOUT MODERN SLAVERY
A horrifying exposé of how modern slavery is being used by elites against those most in need in our society - a must-read -- Frankie Boyle
[Kenway's] powerful treatise argues that modern slavery does not really exist as a clear phenomenon, but has been seized on to divert attention from the underlying causes of labour exploitation, and to provide moral cover for tightened immigration policies -- Amelia Gentleman Guardian
A brave, well-argued and thought-provoking intervention in a complex debate -- Daniel Trilling author of Lights in the Distance: Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe
Electrifyingly good, thoughtful and deeply concerned with people at the sharp end of anti-trafficking and anti-migrant policies. Kenway's book is a must-read for the entire left -- Molly Smith co-author, with Juno Mac, of Revolting Prostitutes The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights
A thought-provoking and essential read - especially if you believe great progress in tackling 'modern slavery' is imminent. Kenway forces us to reconsider how we even think and talk about exploitation -- Stuart McDonald Scottish National Party MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East

Emily Kenway is a writer, activist and former policy advisor. Her first book, The Truth About Modern Slavery, was published in 2021. She has written for a variety of publications including the Guardian, Independent, OpenDemocracy, Huffington Post, Litro and TLS. Her non-fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and in 2020 she was shortlisted for the Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize. Who Cares, her second book, was published in April 2023.

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