Laura Mauldin
Author, Professor
Laura Mauldin is a writer and Associate Professor in the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry at the University of Connecticut. She is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in critical medical sociology and disability studies. Her work addresses, among other things, the US caregiving crisis, the politics of disability and illness, how people move through and experience health care systems in the US, the cultural meanings of disability, and the impacts of ableism in society. But she is not just an academic. Laura also has over a decade of on-the-ground healthcare experience working with providers and patients as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter across every department in one of New York City’s busiest public hospitals. In addition, and in line with her commitment to being an accessible and inspiring educator and speaker, she writes creative nonfiction and journalistic pieces to expand her audience and share big ideas with people. This impulse comes from having deeply affecting personal experiences as a caregiver for five years to her late partner. In that time, Laura found herself living the things she was studying and came to believe she needed to share what she learned with the world. Thus, she pivoted to public writing and speaking. She is a former New America Fellow and author of In Sickness and In Health: Love Stories from the Frontlines of America’s Caregiving Crisis (Ecco/HarperCollins 2026). The book blends memoir, reportage, and cultural criticism to transform our understanding of the care crisis. She has spoken with dozens of media outlets and podcasts about the work, and her other essays and pieces on disability and care can be found here. She also created and maintains the site Disability at Home, which is a public resource of home hacks from disabled people and caregivers on making home more accessible.
TOPICS: Health, Disabiltiites, Science, Technology