ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author recounts her personal experience of engaging in carework. Fletcher presents a major tension that arose given her commitment to a major insight of mad studies: that all kinds of mental illness need not be pathologized. She explains the dilemma that this commitment presents when one is confronted with the challenges of carework of a mentally unwell loved one. Her analysis tracks social class throughout, noting that it is a major factor in whether one is able to engage in sustained carework of a family member or loved one.
