Welcome to Chasing Life. Today we're going to be talking about caregiving. And I think this is such an important topic. The idea that caregiving is often seen as something that is difficult, that it is thankless, it is something that drains our time, our energy, and even our health. We think of it as an obligation more so than an opportunity.

But think of this.

What if caregiving doesn't just take from us, but what if it gives something back as well?

Today's guest is Alyssa Strauss.

She's a writer.

She's a journalist.

And she's the author of, when you care,

the unexpected magic of caring for others. And I just want to tell you, I've been reading Alyssa's work

for a long time. I read her work, even as I was raising my own kids. She's offered a lot. And it's not

dogmatic, but it is very practical in terms of the tips that she provides.

But I also think there's a larger issue that we're going to hit on today.

And that is this idea that it feels good to do good.

It feels good to do good for someone else.

Alyssa's work has really reframed the way that I think about caregiving,

not just as something we endure,

but something that shapes us that can help us psychologically grow.

It's certainly done that for me.

So today, the magic of caring for others.

I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent,

and this is chasing life.

How did you get into this?

How did you start writing about and thinking about caregiving?

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