Caregiving Killed Our Marriage w/ Kate Washington

In this week's episode, Dr. Mark sits down for a deeply moving, brutally honest conversation with returning guest Kate Washington. Kate is a writer and former caregiver whose reality was completely upended when her former husband was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, shifting their dynamic from equal partners to nurse and patient.

Kate opens up about the invisible mental load of caregiving, the erosion of physical and emotional intimacy, and the free-floating resentment that surfaces when your life is no longer your own. She also shares the immense guilt and social anxiety she faced when choosing to step away from her marriage years after the initial crisis passed—not out of selfishness, but as an act of survival.

If you have ever felt completely invisible, isolated, or burnt out while looking after a loved one, this episode is a powerful reminder that you are not carrying this weight alone.

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

About Our Guest:
Kate Washington is the author of Already Toast: Caregiving and Burnout In America (Beacon Press, 2021) and a frequent speaker on the systemic challenges facing family caregivers. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, TIME, HuffPost, Eater, and many other publications. Her second book, Midstream: A Life Remade in 50 Swims, is forthcoming July 7, 2026. She holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and lives in Sacramento with her two daughters, one very friendly dog, and one very unfriendly cat.

Support Our Guest:
▶️ Website: https://www.kawashington.com/
▶️ Pre-Order Kate's new book, Midstream: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/816937/midstream-by-kate-washington/
▶️ Buy Kate's book, Already Toast: Caregiving and Burnout in America:
https://www.kawashington.com/already-toast
▶️ X: @washingtonkate

Connect With Us:
▶️ https://linktr.ee/thecaregiverspodcast

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