Shumita Basu

Yeah.

But it can also make you reluctant to want to delegate those tasks to someone else.

Well, tell me more about what you wanted to do with this book and your decision to include your own story, because it sounds like you have this personal experience, but then you also have

an academic experience of thinking through these topics on a social level and on a political level.

One of the couples that Laura introduces us to is Tina and Ben.

Tina was declared legally blind when she was six years old.

Then at the age of 21, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, or MS, a chronic, often disabling autoimmune disease that can cause a variety of symptoms, including muscle weakness, and can make it difficult to walk and move.

It was a devastating diagnosis for Tina, but at first it was manageable.

Tina went to college, which is where she met Ben, a fellow student who worked as an assistant in a computer lab, and he became her tutor.

But even as they began to fall in love, Tina was afraid to tell him about her MS.

When she finally did, she was relieved by his reaction.

No big deal.

As time went on, after they moved in together and got married, Tina's disease progressed.

And Ben took on more and more caretaking responsibilities, helping Tina use the bathroom, managing medications, even administering home treatments with an IV.

And he slowly realized how alone they were in this experience.

Tina's symptoms got worse, and Ben started missing more and more work.

Soon, it was clear that she needed around-the-clock care that his health insurance didn't cover.

They looked into Medicaid, the government insurance program for people with low incomes.

But in Massachusetts, where they lived, a family of two had to make less than $13,000 a year to qualify.

Because Ben was working, they weren't eligible.