Q&A With Elissa Strauss

I’m happy to be doing this Q&A with writer, curator & cultural producer Elissa Strauss. Elisa’s book is When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others. 

Q: Elissa, would you please give a brief description of your book When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others? 

A: My book is a roadmap on how to better value care, including parenting and caregiving, in our personal lives and as a society. I dig into how care was left out of the human story, and why we don’t really value it. I also present a vision of what it would mean to see care as a hero’s journey, a profound experience that enriches us–and something that our whole society relies on. Do that, and it will become abundantly obvious as to why we should support caregivers!

Q: How long did it take you to write When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others & why was now the right time to write and release the book? 

A: It took me about two years to write. I wrote it because for years I had been covering the care crisis, and I began to realize this isn’t just political, this is cultural.

At the same time, when I became a mom, I was so worried about motherhood ruining me or making me less cool.

I began to put two and two together and I realized that nobody really cares about care. So, I set out to change that! It’s time for a revolution in how we see care, and how we treat those who do it.

Q: What important lessons do you want readers to learn after reading When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others & what emotions do you want readers to feel after reading the book?

A: I want them to see their experiences of caring for others as a rich, meaningful, profound experience that rivals anything else — be it hiking Mt. Everest, or running a successful company. I want them to feel as though care is something that isn’t boring, but rather one of the most exciting things we can discuss. Care is, after all, what makes humans human and what makes our species survive. It shouldn’t be an afterthought!

Q: How does it feel knowing your book has been talked about on CNN twice, in Glamour, Slate, The Atlantic, & CBS News Los Angeles, & Institute For Family Studies?

A: It’s really such an honor to see my ideas about how our culture fails caregivers wrestled with in these big publications. I think we are really starting to awaken ourselves to how much we ignored care, and what it would mean to embrace it as a society.

Q: Are you currently writing another book similar to When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others, a different topic or will you try your hand at fiction the next time around?

A: My next book idea is quite different. I am playing with a novel that dives into the Jewish American experience. Let’s see!

Q: You work as a curator & as a cultural producer! Could you explain what you do as a curator and cultural producer? They sound like amazing jobs but I’m not sure I know the specifics. How do you juggle being a writer, curator & cultural producer?

A: Writing is so lonely. In my other work, I get to engage with people! I am the artistic director of something called LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture, a non-theological house of study for culture-makers in which ancient texts are used to inspire art, ideas and communities. I also lead workshops for Jewish cultural organizations using LABA-style text study. In 2024, I curated the California Jewish Open at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, choosing 53 pieces from over 500 submissions to tell the story of what Jewish-identifying artists in California think about the connection. 

I really love being in touch with other types of culture-makers, and their practices really inspire me in my writing.

Q: You have had work appear in The New York Times, Glamour, The Atlantic, TheWeek.com & numerous publications. What’s it like having work featured in those publications? For anyone wanting to submit their own work for those news publications, I hear from other authors & journalists who have had their work appear in there to read the magazines and see what they usually take and then submit their work. If I wanted a Q&A to appear in one of those publications would the submission process be through an email and then I wait to hear back from them? I’m so curious about how it all works. 

A: It isn’t easy! Or fun! And rejection is a big part of it! But overall, I suggest people start with smaller publications and slowly build up clips. From there, work your way higher, pitch often, and, really, remember, rejections are the norm! Acceptance is a gift!

Q: What’s it like having so many authors, especially New York Times Bestselling Authors, Eve Rodsky, Judith Warner, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Brigid Shulte, & Rebecca Traister give rave reviews of When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others?

A: I feel so grateful that my sheroes, and they really are, appreciated my book. These are all feminist visionaries; I really hope my book contributes to the feminist canon in the long overdue work of making care matter. 

Q: Booklist & Kirkus have given great reviews of When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring For Others. How does it feel knowing they gave great reviews? It seems like a dream come true! 

A: It’s so lovely. Most of all, what I want is for the world to be more curious about care and all it entails. These reviews tell me that my book can do that.