Danielle Friedman's recent New York Times article says it all: "The Constant Work to Keep a Family Connected Has a Name." That work is kinkeeping.
Sociologist Carolyn Rosenthal defined kinkeeping as "someone who works at keeping family members in touch with one another." Every lucky extended family has a kinkeeper, and yes, it's usually a woman. Perhaps that's why the work of kinkeeping can be dismissed as silly and unimportant, even by the same people who reap its benefits.
Margaret and Amy discuss:
How kinkeepers help their families live longer
How to get support if you're the kinkeeper
How to offer support if you're not
Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:
Our interview with Eve Rodsky: "Changing the Invisible Workload"
Molly West's TikTok video on kinkeeping
Frank Bruni for the NYT: "Tolstoy and Miss Daisy"
Danielle Friedman for the NYT: "The Constant Work to Keep a Family Connected Has a Name"
Carolyn J. Rosenthal for The Journal of Marriage and Family: "Kinkeeping in the Familial Division of Labor"
Caitlin G Allen, et. al, for the Journal of Community Genetics: "Developing and assessing a kin keeping scale with application to identifying central influencers in African American family networks"
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